When Forgetting Something Can Change Your Life
by ninjasandbacon
Summary: He loves her. She doesn't recognize him. Can she find herself in her one true love? DanxSerena.
1. Chapter 1

Her head hurt and all she could see was black.

Wrenching her eyes open, Serena slowly sat up and moaned, holding a hand up to her head. Her head throbbed and she could feel something sticking out of her arm. She looked at it. It was an IV.

_Wait...an IV?!_

Before she had time to ask why there was an IV in her arm, she heard the voice of her mother. "Serena! She's awake!"

"Mom? What happened?" Serena asked, voice groggy.

"You were in a cab accident with Dan." Lily said, looking at her daughter anxiously.

"Dan?" Before Serena could continue, a doctor rushed in and started to examine her. He pressed a stethoscope to her chest and started speaking rapidly to Lily. "She might have amnesia. But if she recognizes you, that might be a good sign."

Lily nodded once and said, "I'm going to call Dan." Then she left the room.

Serena looked at the doctor. "Who's Dan?" The doctor removed the stethoscope from his ears and said, "You don't recognize the name Dan Humphrey?"

Serena shook her head and the doctor immediately called a nurse in. "Find Lily van der Woodsen. Now."

Serena watched as the nurse rushed out of the room. "Should I know a guy named Dan?" Serena asked the doctor.

"Let's wait for your mom. Now tell me what you know about your life." The doctor demanded.

"Why?" Serena gave the doctor a wary look.

"I need to know if you still have your memory. Now tell me." The doctor said, making notes on a clipboard.

"Okay? Well my best friends are Blair, Chuck and Nate. Chuck is my step-brother. I have another brother named Eric. I graduated from Brown. Anything else you need to know?"

"No. Now your mother should be up in a few seconds. Talk to her. She'll explain who Dan is." The doctor said before leaving the white hospital room.

Serena looked around the bright room. On her bedside table was a bright blue envelope. She opened it and took out the piece of paper and pictures inside. The letter read:

_**Serena,**_

_**I hope you're feeling better. I know you can't read this, but it helps me to write one each week. If you look at the pictures you'll see that Nate, Caden and I went to the zoo. He can't wait for you to come back. It's been a little over a month. He misses you. Well I've got to go, sorry for the short letter but ****Blair's trying to convince Caden to go shopping with her and the last thing I need is a mini-Nate. Get better soon. Caden and I need you.**_

_**Love Dan.**_

Serena set the letter down and shuffled through the pictures. A brown haired man was waving at the camera with a little blonde haired boy. How did she know them?

Just then, Lily entered the room to see her daughter looking at the recent pictures in confusion. "Mom, who's Caden and Dan?"

"You don't remember Dan?" Lily asked, her brow furrowed.

Serena shook her head. She pressed her left hand to her forehead and groaned. As she brought it down again, something on her hand caught the light. They were rings. A diamond Tiffany's engagement ring and a matching wedding ring. "Mom, am I married?"

Lily sighed and sat on the edge of her daughter's hospital bed. "Yes sweetie, you are. Dan is your husband."

As if to punctuate Lily's statement, the same brown haired man from the pictures came rushing in. "Serena, you woke up!"

"Are you Dan?" Serena asked. The guy slowly nodded and his shoulders sagged as he looked at Lily.

"What's going on?" Dan asked Lily. "She doesn't know who I am. Lily, what's going on?"

Lily sighed and looked at her son in law. "The doctor said that she has amnesia. She doesn't remember you or Caden. I'm sorry."

Dan's eyes widened and he cast a look at Serena before directing his attention back at Lily. "She will remember though, right?"

"There might be a chance she won't. Certain things will trigger her memory. You have to find those things."

Dan looked as though he was going to cry. "Okay. Is she going home tonight?"

"I don't know, its up to her."

Dan looked at Serena and walked over to her. "I know you don't remember me or know who I am, but would you like to come home tonight?"

"Home?" Serena asked.

"If you want to, I could sleep in the guest room until you remember me. And you could have Blair stay over, too. That is, if you want to." Dan muttered.

"Okay. Mom, could you call Blair for me?"

Lily nodded and got ready to walk out when Dan put a hand out. "I'll call Blair to come and she can take Serena home. Caden and my dad are in the cafeteria. I'll just take them and go home." Dan said, his voice cracking.

Lily nodded at the sad young man and watched as he left the room, a visible tear sliding down his right cheek.

Dan walked to the elevator briskly, hoping no one would stop him and see the tears dripping down his face. _His_ wife didn't remember him or their son. And it was because of the damn car accident they had gotten into five weeks ago.

He managed not to erupt in tears when he reached the cafeteria. Rufus and Caden waved at him and he made his way over.

"So how did it go?" Questioned Rufus, having not seen the tears on Dan's face yet.

Dan looked up at his dad, tears shining in his eyes. "She doesn't..doesn't remember me or Caden." He choked out, tears flowing freely.

Rufus looked at his crying son and did the only thing he could do. He pulled Dan into his arms and held him as he cried. "It's gonna be alright." Rufus whispered.

Caden looked as his dad cried. "Why is daddy sad?" This made Dan stop crying. He had to be strong for Caden.

"It's nothing. Let's go home, okay buddy?" Dan said, wiping his tears on the back of his sleeve.

Caden nodded and jumped off his chair. "Is mommy gonna be there?"

Dan looked at his adorable son and took a deep breath to restrain the tears. "Yeah, auntie Blair's gonna bring mommy home. Let's go so we can beat her there!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey this took a while to get out because at first I didn't like what I wrote and I deleted all of it and started over in a new direction so don't hate me. And thanks for all the reviews, I'm gonna do my best to update every week. Anyway, hope you like it. Oh and a shout out to my friend Krislyn for catching a horrible typo in chapter 1. **

Meanwhile, Serena had changed into jeans and a gray t-shirt and was talking to Lily about the life she never knew about.

"Mom, if Dan is the love of my life, why don't I remember him?" Serena asked, exasperated.

Lily shook her head sadly. "I don't know sweetie. But ask any of your friends and they'll tell you. You met Dan in junior year and you two are soul mates."

"I don't believe you. Is this supposed to be a joke, mom?" Serena replied, suddenly angry.

"Serena, its okay if you don't believe me, but look at your left hand."

Serena gritted her teeth and allowed her gaze to drop to her left hand. Two rings were on it. An engagement ring and a wedding band.

"Take them off." Lily ordered. "They're engraved."

Serena did as instructed and looked at the inside of the rings. On the engagement ring, 'I will always love you' was inscribed and on the wedding ring was 'Derena. Together Forever."

"Derena?" Serena questioned.

Lily nodded. "Blair chose the name. Dan and Serena. Fitting, isn't it?"

Serena shook her head angrily. "No mom. I don't even know the guy! How can I be his wife?" Wife. The word sounded odd coming out of Serena's lips.

Lily sighed at her stubborn daughter. "Dan will explain everything. Now, Blair's almost here. Calm down."

"What if I don't want to go to Dan's house?" Serena grumbled, arms crossed.

"It's your-" Lily was cut off by the doctor. "Mrs. Humphrey, Mrs. Van Der Woodsen. I wanted to give you this pamphlet. It covers the five stages of grief and although no one is particularly suffering the stages might be the same to what Mrs. Humphrey might be having."

"Thank you." Lily said warmly, flicking through the papers.

"I am not in any stages." Huffed Serena.

Lily sighed and suddenly saw Blair. "Blair! Oh thank goodness you're here. You know what's going on, right?"

Blair nodded. "I'll tell Serena everything in the limo and you're almost late for my mother's party."

Lily cast a smile at Blair and said, "Alright then, I'll see you two later."

Blair turned to look at Serena who was still watching her mother go into the elevator. "So you don't believe Dan is your husband?"

"I don't know, Blair. Part of thinks he is, but another part thinks that everyone is lying to me. I guess I just want proof. Like maybe a marriage license or something."

"How bout a birth certificate?" Blair said dragging Serena to the next elevator.

"Birth certificate? What does my birth certificate have to do with anything?" Serena asked, grateful for the empty elevator.

"I'm not talking about yours. I'm talking about Caden's."

"Who's Caden?"

Blair bit her lip, wondering if this was the best time to tell her. They were in an elevator so it wasn't like Serena could storm off. "Caden's your son."

"I have a son." Serena stated, awestruck.

"Yes you do." Blair and Serena exited the elevator and disappeared into the limo.

"..I don't remember him." Serena said quietly.

"I know you don't, but the important thing is, he remembers you as his mommy. And without you remembering, I don't know how he's gonna take that."

"Blair, what if I never remember him?"

"You will. One day, Dan's gonna find something that makes you remember and everything will be fine again." Blair declared.

The limo pulled to a stop and the two best friends stepped out. Serena observed the house in front of her. Not too big, not too small. "I live here?"

Blair responded by pulling Serena towards the seemingly quiet house. She rapped twice on the door and it opened to reveal the one and only, Dan Humphrey.

"Hey Blair. Serena. Come in." He shuffled back to let them enter. He closed the door and slid over to the bar. "Gin martini, Blair?"

"Actually, how about some orange juice?"

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Blair Waldorf turning down a martini? Never thought I would see the day. Um, Serena do you want anything to drink? Orange juice? Or something stronger?"

"Orange juice is fine." Serena said quietly as she fidgeted on the couch.

"Blair? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Dan asked while he poured the juice.

"Sure." Blair stood up and walked towards the bar.

"I wanted to ask you if Caden could stay with you and Chuck for a couple of days. I don't want him to know that Serena doesn't remember him. Please."

Blair smiled and took her glass of orange juice. "Sure. I love Caden, but if he comes back with more clothes than he brought, you can't yell at me, Cabbage Patch."

Dan rolled his eyes and took the other glass to Serena. "Hi Serena."

"Hey."

Blair nearly snorted as she watched the two. She stood up and cleared her throat, easing the tension in the room. "I'm going to go get Caden. Dan, is he packed?"

"Yeah and don't forget to get Cedric." Dan muttered as he sat across from Serena.

"Cedric?" Serena asked, speaking for the first time.

Dan flushed and said, "Yeah, he's my Cabbage Patch doll. I've had him for a while."

"Oh, that's cool."

Dan nodded and two were thrown in an awkward silence.

Just then, they heard footsteps and a little boy's voice going, "Momma! You're back."

Dan and Serena turned to look at the little boy. "Hi Caden." Serena murmured.

Caden flung himself into Serena's arms and hugged her, not noticing that she stiffened at impact, but relaxed a few seconds later.

Dan looked at the direction came from and saw an embarrassed Blair. She walked over to Caden who was still holding on to Serena. "Come on Caden. Don't you wanna go play with Uncle Chuck?"

Caden released his grip and turned to hug Dan. "I'll see you in a few days, k Caden?"

Caden nodded. He took Blair's hand and walked to the door. "Bye momma, bye daddy."

Dan watched as his son got into Chuck's limo and disappeared from his line of sight.

"He's really cute." Serena said quietly.

"Yeah. He's got your looks." Dan muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Blair says you're my husband." Serena mumbled, feigning interest in her shoes.

"Do you believe her?" Dan asked, gently. "It's okay if you don't."

"I don't know." Serena blurted out. "Its weird. My mom says we're soul mates, but if we are..how come I don't remember you?"

"I don't know." Dan admitted. "I'm a writer, not a doctor."

"W-Were we happy?" Serena asked, tentatively.

"I'll show you some pictures." Dan held out his hand.

Serena looked at it nervously. Dan dropped it. "Alright then, follow me."

He climbed up the stairs and walked into the master bedroom. He pulled open a drawer and took out a photo album. "This is our room. You can sleep here. I'll be in Caden's room or one of the guest rooms."

He handed her the photo album. "Take a look at these and tell me if we were happy."

Serena opened the photo to see page after page of her, Dan and Caden. She dropped the book on the bed. "Yeah I guess, we were. And what is that?" She pointed at the teddy bear on the bed.

"A Chippen-Bear from your bachelor party."

"We went to see the Chippendales?

"Yeah. You, Blair and a bunch of other people. You got me the cuffs and collar while you were there." Dan said, chuckling. "Anyway, I'm gonna get some clothes. You might want to take a shower, get some rest." He walked into the closet, leaving Serena to her thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

"**The best things in life are unseen. That's why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry and dream."**

The next day...

Serena rolled over in the comfortable bed and smelled something cooking downstairs.

Yawning and not changing out of her pajamas, Serena walked to the staircase and saw Dan cooking and singing along to the radio.

"Cause its us against the world. You and me against them all. If you listen to these words know that we are stand-" Dan had turned around while singing and saw Serena at the staircase. "Hey."

"Good morning." Serena said, with a small smirk playing at her lips.

"I was just..er..making waffles. Do you want one?"

"Sure." Serena walked over to where Dan was. "Can I just ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Can I look at Caden's birth certificate?" Serena mumbled, her attention focused on the waffle.

"Uh, sure. I'll show it to you after breakfast." He handed her a plate containing two waffles and a couple of chopped up strawberries.

"Thanks."

Dan took the dish, rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. He wiped his hands and gestured for Serena to follow him into the den.

"This is where we keep our books, records, video games, laptops and its a room too. Eric loves staying in this room." Dan said absentmindedly, his fingers skimming over books. He walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book.

"This is Caden's baby book. His birth certificate is in here. Here, take it." He handed Serena the book and watched as she sank down onto one of the couches. He then walked over to a shelf filled with magazines and pulled one of them out.

"What magazine is that?" Serena asked, suddenly curious.

"The New Yorker. Twenty Under Twenty. Vanessa submitted a story for me and I got published for the first time."

"That's great. What's the story?"

"10-08-05. It's uh actually about you. You read it on Christmas Eve. That was a really special night. That was the night, I realized that you were the one for me."

Serena suddenly backed away, uncomfortable. "Can you please stop?"

"Stop what? I'm sorry, did I upset you?" Dan asked, worry clouding his face.

"Just stop! Stop with all the romantic talk and apologizing. I don't even know you!" Serena blurted out, all the anger rushing out of her.

Dan's jaw clenched as he silently put the magazine back. "Fine." He said tersely. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. I just thought maybe, I don't know, that I could get my wife back?"

He walked out of the den and Serena heard a door slam. Dan was gone. Serena sat on the couch, feeling ashamed of herself. All he had done was be nice to her and she had snapped at him. But he had been too mushy for her liking.

Serena settled on the couch, looking up Caden's birth certificate long forgotten, and dozed off.

Serena woke up with a start, hearing something move near the front door and rushed over, thinking that Dan had come back. It was just the mail. She sighed and picked it up. Retreating to her spot in the den, she flipped through the letters. She found a formal letter addressed to her, weirdly not to Serena Humphrey, but to Serena van der Woodsen

Flipping open the seal, Serena found out the letter to be an invitation to the debutante ball. _Serena van der Woodsen plus 1_.

Serena stared at the invitation. _Plus 1. _The words echoed in her head. Who would she take?

Buried in her thoughts, she didn't hear the door open. She heard laughter and looked up.

Serena walked to the kitchen and saw Nate and Dan standing there with a basketball.

Dan took the basketball from Nate. "I'll be outside."

Nate and Serena watched him leave. "You really don't remember him, do you?"

Serena shook her head sadly. "Before you came, I said some horrible things to him. I don't think he'll forgive me."

Nate stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He will. He's just upset that you can't remember him or Caden. You guys will be fine. Trust me. Anyway, I've got a basketball game to play. I'll see you later."

Serena nodded, not noticing Nate had left.

Sighing, she pulled out her phone and pressed down on '2'. "Blair? Hey, can you come over? And bring Caden and Chuck? Okay, thanks."

**Alright, I know this a short chapter, but the next one will be longer I promise!! Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm gonna start writing chapter 4 right now. I promise :)**

**-Stephanie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so my friend is taking too long with my hard drive so I'm retyping it. Hope you like it and sorry for the long wait. **

Dan watched Nate come out and retrieved the ball.

"You done talking to her?"

Nate nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "I'm sorry man."

Dan nodded his thanks and passed the ball to Nate. "C'mon let's play."

"To fifteen?"

"Yup. Now check the ball."

Nate laughed and handed the ball to Dan. "You're gonna lose."

Dan merely dribbled the ball and pretended to charge Nate, causing him to stumble back. He charged to the basket and made an easy layup.

"What the hell was that?!"

"My first point."

Nate rolled his eyes. "You're still gonna lose."

"Will you just shut up and check the ball?!"

Nate handed Dan the ball again and crouched low, ready to defend.

Dan sped towards the basket, only to have the ball stolen by Nate who made a fadeaway shot. **(A/N: I don't want to bore you with the basketball talk, so moving on!!)**

Fifteen minutes later, both guys were dripping with sweat and it was tied 14-14, Dan's ball.

"You still gonna win, Nate?"

"Yup, just watch."

Dan rolled his eyes and took the ball. For the past fifteen minutes, his mind had been in the game and off of Serena. It was somewhat relaxing.

Dan faked right and charged left, with Nate all over him. He took a few steps back, ready with the jump shot. The ball just about to leave his hands...when he heard a familiar voice say, "Dan?"

He released the ball, only to have it stop three feet away from the hoop. Nate quickly scooped up the ball and drove it to the basket, slamming it in for the win.

"I told you I would win man." Nate said laughing, walking over to pat Dan on the back.

Dan however was stationary, staring at the directon of the voice. "Serena." He breathed.

Nate looked in the direction Dan was staring and saw that it was indeed Serena. But what had surprised Dan the most was that she was holding Caden's hand.

"Dude, I thought you said she didn't remember Caden." Nate said, picking up the ball.

"She doesn't."

Caden let go of Serena's hand and ran over to Dan. "Daddy!"

He launched himself into Dan's arms. "Daddy, Uncle Chuck curses a lot."

Dan chuckled and held his son tighter. "Yeah, I bet he does. Did he pay you?"

"Yup! I got fifty dollars!"

Dan and Serena had made a deal with all of their friends. Anytime they cursed in front of the little boy, they had to pay him five dollars.

"Didya get any from Auntie Blair?"

"Yeah, only five. She cursed at Uncle Chuck when he cursed the first time yesterday! Hi Uncle Nate!"

Caden had spotted Nate and waved. Dan passed Caden to Nate and watched as he carried his son piggy back style into the house.

Dan smiled at the sight and looked up to see that Serena was still there. She was biting her lip and looked nervous. Something that didn't happen very often.

"Dan," She called out softly. "Can we talk?"

Forcing a smile, he picked up the basketball and walked towards her. "Sure."

He followed her into the kitchen and dropped the ball into a nearby chair. "What's up?"

"Look, I wanted to apologize. What I said was out of line and that was wron-"

Dan stood up and cut her off. "Hey, its fine. You don't remember me and I freaked you out. It's fine."

"No its not! And if you're saying its fine, you're lying to me and yourself!"

"Then what the hell do you want me to say?" Dan sank into a chair and sighed wearily.

"I want the truth. I know that I don't remember you or our s-s-son, but you seem like a good guy."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "I seem like a good guy?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Well you haven't attempted to do anything to make me uncomfortable and I feel really bad that I can't remember you."

"Its not your fault."

"It feels like it is."

"Maybe we can change that."

"That'd be nice."

Dan smiled and held out his right hand. "So lets start over. Let's say we just met and we're gonna go on a date tonight."

"I'd like that." She took his hand. "Hi, I'm Serena."

"I'm Dan."

The two smiled at each other, their hands still locked in a handshake. There was a resounding crash from the living room and they turned to see that Nate, Blair and Chuck had tumbled into the kitchen, obviously eavesdropping.

Blair hastily picked herself up and walked away, nose in the air. Nate and Chuck did the same, except less gracefully. As soon as they walked away, Dan and Serena burst out laughing.

Then, Caden burst into the kitchen. "Momma, Daddy! Uncle Chuck cursed again!"

Dan picked Caden up. "Oh did he? Well then he's going to take you, Auntie Blair and Uncle Nate to dinner. Mommy and daddy are going out tonight. You be a good boy while you're staying at Blair's okay?"

"Okay daddy. We have to go now. Uncle Chuck told me he would buy me a present. Bye mommy, daddy. I love you!"

Serena watched as Caden hopped down from his fathers arms. He was so...adorable. And watching this guy Dan and Caden interact was so...cute.

Dan smiled fondly at his son and turned to Serena.

"So where do you want to go tonight?"

"Surprise me."

"Alright. Let's say goodbye to Blair and Chuck."

"And Nate."

"Right, I so would have beaten him at basketball. You just sort of took my breath away."

Serena blushed and opened her mouth to stammer a reply when Blair burst into the kitchen again.

"Why is my husband taking Caden, Nate and I to dinner?" She narrowed her eyes in Dan's direction.

"Uh...about that, um.." Stammered Dan.

"Blair, Dan and I are going on a date." Serena cut in.

Blair raised her eyebrows in Dan's direction. "Okay then. We're going to Butter. Don't follow us. Go somewhere else and leave us the hell alone."

Dan rolled his eyes and he and Serena followed her out of the kitchen.

Dan watched as Serena bounded down the stairs, looking every bit the angel he knew she was.

"Uh..you...look.." Dan trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"Too casual?" Serena said, looking down at her tights and shirt dress. "Too dressy?"

"No, you look...perfect."

Serena blushed and looked at her feet. "So where are we going?"

"We are going to be eating here then going out to do some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"You'll see."

"Okay."

"Right, so I'm gonna go change. And yea." He ran up the stairs and into their bedroom.

Throwing off his t-shirt, he quickly changed into a black button down and a pair of black jeans. He rushed back downstairs and saw that Serena was on the couch, reading a fashion magazine.

"Hey."

She looked up and set the magazine aside. "Hey. So are we eating in the dining room? Kitchen?"

"Nah, we're eating right here. Unless you want to go to the dining room or kitchen."

"Right here's fine."

Dan walked into the kitchen to get the food. He brought it out and set it out on the table along with utensils and plates.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Um, a diet coke?"

"One diet coke, coming right up!" Dan mock-saluted her, causing her to burst into giggles.

He quickly got her drink and brought it back for her.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Ready to see your dinner?"

"I can't wait."

Dan took off the silver domes covering the food and heard a gasp from Serena.

"These are all my favorite foods!" She squealed.

"Yeah, I know."

"Thank you. For doing this, even though I don't remember yo-sorry shouldn't have brought that up."

Dan waved a hand as if to say, 'It's alright' and spooned some spaghetti onto his plate and Serena's.

"Mmm, this is delicious."

"Thank you. This is like Caden's favorite food."

"Tell me about him."

"Caden?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's just about the cutest four year old ever. He's turning five next week. There are times when I can definitely tell he's your son. And apparently he wants to be just like his grandpa when he grows up. Playing in a band, going on tour. He's good at Guitar Hero, I'll give him that. He probably got that from you."

Serena watched as Dan talked, mesmerized. "I really wish I remember him and you."

"You're not the only one."

Dan looked at Serena, love showing in his eyes. Serena blushed and quickly ate some bites to avoid awkward conversation.

Fifteen minutes later, both had finished their meals and Serena was lounging on the couch as Dan washed the dishes. He stepped out of the kitchen, rolling his sleeves down.

"Ready for the second part of our date?"

"More than ever."

He handed her one of her many coats and donned his own army jacket. It was mid-November and it was slightly chilly outside.

"So where are we going?"

"For a walk." Dan replied vaguely.

They linked arms and stepped into the night. A town car was waiting for them outside. Dan opened the door for Serena and followed her in.

"I thought you said we were going for a walk." Serena said, her tone playful.

"We are. We're going to the park."

They arrived at the park. It was still light out and the sun was beginning to set.

Serena and Dan began to walk along the path, her hand tucked in the crook of his arm.

"This is nice." She said, staring at the sunset. "It's really beautiful. It's amazing."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't use beautiful. Not with you here."

Serena blushed for what seemed like the twentith time that night. "Thank you."

Dan inclined his head slightly and stared off into the distance. Then turning to look at her, he asked, "So you're probably wondering why we're walking here, right?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Well since you don't know me, I'm giving you the oppurtunity to ask me any question at all. Even embarassing ones." He shot her a smile.

"Alright. Um, when did I first meet you?"

"Ninth grade birthday party. You were the only one that talked to me there, but you might've been a little more than tipsy and didn't remember it."

"What are you most ashamed of?"

Dan turned sort of a purple/red color and mumbled, "I cheated on you once, with Georgina."

"Oh." Serena felt a tight burning feeling in the pit of her stomach, but forced a small smile and continued to ask questions.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"What's my favorite food?"

"Grilled Cheese with Truffle Oil."

"What's my favorite book?"

"The Catcher in the Rye." **(A/N: Awesome book!)**

"You're good at this."

"Years of practice."

"What attracted you to me the most?"

"At first...your looks." Dan looked at his feet and smiled sheepishly. "Then when I got to know you, it was your laugh, your ability to be with me, and just you being you."

Serena felt a memory pass through her head and heard the words, 'You laugh like a four year old.'

"I see. So I wasn't just good in bed?" She joked.

"Oh you were, but I didn't want just that. I wanted everything."

**So this is where the chapter ends, hope you like it. And I just realized that I need a beta-reader. Someone to talk me through my insanity filled life, someone to edit for me, someone to talk to me when I have too much sugar. You get the point. Anyway, if you want to assist me(wow that sounds weird) just PM me, email me, whatever.**

**See you soon,**

**-Stephanie  
(xoxoDanSerena)**


	5. Chapter 5

Serena licked her ice cream, sneaking a look at Dan. They had stopped walking a couple of minutes ago and they were eating ice cream on a bench.

"Is Caden going to have a party?"

"Yeah. Just a small though, with family and close friends."

Serena nodded thoughtfully and licked her ice cream before it started to drip. "What does he want for his birthday?"

"I don't know. I have to ask him."

"You don't know!?"

"Well, he kinda wanted his mom to wake up, and then you did, so it might've changed." Dan admitted, a blush creeping its way across his cheeks. "I have to go shopping for him soon."

"Can I go with you?" Serena asked hesitantly.

"Sure."

The two quickly finished off their ice cream and decided to take another short walk.

"So what do you want to do next?"

"I thought you had this all planned out?"

"Nope, I'm making it up as I go along." Dan quipped.

Serena giggled. "Well its getting dark, so maybe we should go back?"

"Alright. Come on, let's get a cab."

Twenty minutes later, they were in front of the house and bursting with laughter. Dan paid the cabbie and unlocked the door to the house.

"So uh, I guess this is the end of our date." Dan said, as they entered the house.

"Yeah I guess so. It was fun. We should do it again."

"Well, tomorrow I promised Caden I would take him to the zoo. I don't know if you want to go shopping with Blair or come with us."

"I'd love to."

They paused at the foot of the stairs, Dan's hand on the little round thing.

"So, um goodnight, I guess?"

Serena smiled and got up on her tiptoes and gently brushed her lips with his. She lingered there for a moment longer before pulling away with a devilish grin**. (A/N: Too much Remembering Sunday on repeat can cause people to repeat part of a lyric in their writing lol)**

"Sorry." She said, looking not at all apologetic. "You just- you just looked very kissable in that light."

"You don't have to apologize," Dan muttered, a half smile forming on his face. "So do I still look kissable?"

"Definitely."

Dan smiled lazily and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

Serena wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and leaned in. "Kiss me." She whispered before smashing her lips to his.

"You taste like vanilla ice cream." She mumbled against his mouth.

"You taste like chocolate ice cream."

Serena smiled and pulled away, somewhat hesitantly. She bit her lip, as if debating whether or not to say something. "So um, goodnight?'

"Goodnight."

Serena walked upstairs, wanting nothing more than to charge into Dan's arm and kiss him over and over and over and over again.

The next day...

Serena woke up, a smile gracing her features. Last night was absolutely...enchantig. Not to mention the fact that her husband was a fantastic kisser.

She walked downstairs, still clad in her gold robe. She spotted Dan once again at the stove, making breakfast. He was, again, singing to the radio.

"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes, started making his way past two in the morning, he hasn't been for sober for days. Leaning now into the bree-Hey! Serena! You're up." **(A/N: Let's play a game. The game is called 'Guess this song!')**

"And you're singing again." She teased, laughing at the blush creeping up his neck.

"Well, uh, I needed something to pass the time."

She smiled at him. "Well you're a very good singer."

"Thank you. Must've gotten that from my dad." Seeing Serena's confused look, he began to explain. "Um, my dad, he's the lead singer of a band called Lincoln Hawk from the nineties."

"Never heard of them."

"Um, let me see if I can still remember one of their songs. Yeah, I got it! One of their songs is Everytime. Do you wanna hear it?"

"Love to."

"Alright, um. Cause everytime you walk away or run away, you take a piece of me with you there. Come back to me, your smile, it makes my life complete. Everytime you walk away or run away you take a piece of with you there."

"Wait! I know this song. I've heard it before, it was at a concert, I think." Serena said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall the event. "Chuck and Blair were there and so was my mom. I can't- I can't remember."

"I think I know what you're talking about."

Serena looked at him curiously, wondering if he was going to continue. When he didn't, she cast a gaze at the stove. "So what's for breakfast?"

Dan plastered a smile on his face and handed her a plate. "Eggs, bacon, food of the breakfast gods."

"I think Blair would call this a heart attack on a plate." **(A/N: I heard that phrase somewhere, but I can't remember...grr) **Serena quipped, smiling. "Thank you, though. For cooking for me."

"Don't get used to it. I'm making cereal tomorrow." He sat down next to her with a plate of his own.

"Cool. So are we picking up Caden?"

"Yeah, at eleven. Which is in about...three hours. But we are not going anywhere, until you get dressed. No way in hell are you going out dressed like that."

"Yeah, don't want to scare the world by showing them how Serena van der Wo-Humphrey looks in the morning." Serena said sarcastically, putting ketchup on her eggs.

"Oh you look fine. It's just that you're in a very thin silk robe."

Serena blushed and ate more of her eggs. "So what are we gonna do to pass the next three hours?"

"We could talk, play guitar hero, sing, or um we could..." Dan trailed off, thinking.

"Make out?" Serena said, half joking.

She watched as Dan flushed a deep red.

"I probably have morning breath and everything." Serena said quickly, to avoid any awkwardness.

"We could. That is, if you really wanted to." Dan said, a naughty smile playing at his lips.

"How about later?"

"Later," Dan echoed. "Later sounds good."

"Oh and I have something I wanted to ask you."

"Shoot."

"I got this letter about the debutante ball and I was wondering if you, maybe, wanted to be my date?"

"I'd be honored." Clearly Serena hadn't remembered her grandmother's fake cancer scare.

"Great! I think its in a week or two. I have to get a dress."

"How about gold?"

"Gold? Do you think that would look good on me?"

"I'm sure you'll look marvelous."

Now it was Serena's turn to blush. "Thank you."

The two finished their breakfast and Dan washed the dishes, again while Serena went to change upstairs. When she clambered downstairs, she was surprised to find Dan standing at the foot of the stairs, obviously waiting for her.

"Hey, you waiting for me?"

"Nah, I'm waiting for the other beautiful blonde living here." Dan deadpanned. "Yeah, I guess I was waiting for you. Didn't you say we were going to make out?"

Smiling when Serena's eyes widened and a blush formed on her cheeks, he started talking again. "Just kidding. I wanted to ask you to dance."

"Dance?"

"For practice, so I don't look like an idiot at the ball. Besides, we've got three hours to kill."

"Okay, but since I'm not getting presented we don't _have_ to dance."

"I know. I want to."

Serena smiled, taking a breath to steele herself. Wow, a guy who actually _wanted _to dance.

He took Serena in his arms, one hand clasping hers, the other resting lightly on her waist.

"So do I dance like this?"

Serena laughed, liking the close proximity. "How about something easier?"

She wound her arms around his neck while he automatically placed her arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"This is nice." He whispered, his nose brushing hers.

"What about music?" She looked up at him, wanting to tilt her head up so she could capture his lips.

"I'll sing. Any requests?" His breath was hot on her face.

"The song you were singing earlier. Just like start in the middle or something."

"Forgive me, I'm trying to find my calling, I'm calling at night. I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl? She's been running through my dreams, driving me crazy it seems. I'm gonna ask her to marry me." He sang, eyes never leaving hers. "Your turn."

"I have to sing?"

"Yup."

"I'm not good at singing!"

"I know."

The smirk on his face was driving her insane, as she slowly began to sing. **(A/N: Round two in 'Guess this song!' leave your answers in your reviews! and no this is not a ploy to get more reviews. Okay maybe it is!) **"But you put on quite a show, really had me going, but now its time to go, curtain's finally closing. That was quite a show, very entertaining, but its over now, go on and take a bow."

Serena stopped, blushing. "I sound horrible, don't I?"

"You sound fine." Dan said, his lips an inch away from hers.

"You know, you're still very kissable." Serena said smiling.

"Oh am I?"

"Yes you are. So kissable that I could do this." Serena grip on him became tighter as she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips parted slightly and he took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. He pulled away from her to trail kisses down her neck, pausing at the hollow of her throat. Serena moaned and pulled him up to kiss him again. Her hands reached for the buttons of his shirt, managing to get the first two undone before he stopped her.

"We-we can't do this." Dan said, panting slightly. "I don't want to take advantage of you."

"How are you taking advantage of me? I'm not drunk or anything!"

Dan shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, it just..it doesn't feel like the proper thing to do. You don't remember me, Serena. I can't do this."

Serena narrowed her eyes at him. "I would yell at you if you weren't so damn cute being a gentleman."

"I'm sorry."

"How long until we pick up Caden?"

"Two hours."

"Well, then this is gonna be a long two hours."

Serena plunked herself down on the couch and starting flipping through a random book.

Dan sighed, following suit.

**Hey...chapter ends here. Thanks for all the reivews! I'm still thinking about the whole beta-reader thing. I might not post anything for the next two days, cuz my dad's coming back tomorrow!! and I have tae kwon do, schedule pick up, bunch of boring school crap, but I will begin typing the next chatper as soon as possible!**

**-Stephanie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Congrats to Pinkblood for getting the song right.  
Thanks for beta-ing, Manda!**

* * *

Two hours later...

The two pulled up at Blair's penthouse both frustrated and freezing. They were forty-five minutes late because of the traffic and the heater didn't work in the taxi. Needless to say, they were pretty annoyed.

Dan stepped into the elevator first, quickly pressing 'P'. He shot a glance at Serena who was still shivering despite the black coat. He took a step towards her, stopped, and took another step. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his head into her shoulder.

"Body heat." He whispered.

"Thank you." Her words were slightly muffled as her head was buried snugly into his chest.

The elevator stopped with a loud 'ding'. Dan slowly slid his arms away and stepped through. The minute his feet touched the black and white tiled floor, he was met with a glaring Blair Waldorf and a smirking Chuck.

"You're late." Blair narrowed her gaze as the couple stared at their feet like bad little children.

"T-traffic." Dan stammered, wondering why after all these years Blair could still scare him.

"Right." Came Chuck's familiar drawl. Dan looked up to see Chuck's usual smirk.

"Seriously, look outside." Serena said, also noticing Chuck.

"Well we would, but we were too busy comforting your son, who thought you weren't going to show up."

"Damn. We should've called." Dan muttered. "Where is he?"

"His room."

Dan walked up the staircase followed by Serena. He entered the first room on the left.

Caden, who had been playing with his DS Lite, looked up and saw Dan and Serena.

"Momma, Daddy! You came!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Dan enveloped Caden into a hug. "Sorry we're late. There was a lot of traffic. But c'mon, let's go before your Auntie Blair kills me." He put Caden down and grabbed a jacket from his suitcase. He looked over at Caden who was currently hugging Serena.

He took Caden from her and put on his jacket for him. "Can you tell mommy something?" Caden whispered in Dan's ear.

"Sure buddy. What's up?" Dan whispered back, aware of the confused look on Serena's face.

"Tell her she looks really pretty today."

Dan finished zipping up Caden's jacket and straightened up. "Serena. Caden thinks you look really pretty today."

"Who's Serena?" Caden said, his adorable face masked with confusion.

"That's mommy."

"But isn't mommy's name mommy?"

"We all have different names Caden. You call her mommy because she's your mom, but her real name is Serena. Mine is Dan."

"Cool!"

Dan chuckled and led the two downstairs.

"Auntie Blair! Don't kill daddy!" Caden cried as soon as he saw Blair and Chuck.

"I wasn't going to. At least not today."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Well we're going to the zoo, bye."

"Bye Auntie Blair, Uncle Chuck, Uncle Nate!"

"Bye!"

Serena gave Blair a hug and followed Dan and Caden into the elevator.

* * *

The three made their way onto the busy street and quickly hailed a taxi.

Caden took his parents' hands and together they stepped into a taxi, this time one with a working heater.

"Daddy! Can we go see the polar bears first?!" Caden asked, tugging on Dan's hand.

"Sure, but you have to stay close okay?" The three made their way to the polar bear exhibit.

Caden hurriedly let go of Dan's hand and went to press his face against the glass to get a better view of Gus and Ida, Central Park Zoo's resident polar bears.

"Caden's adorable." Serena muttered, sliding her hand into Dan's.

"Yeah, he takes after you." Dan said, turning his gaze away from Caden.

"Dan...I know that I don't remember you or Caden, but I wish I could." Serena wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and buried her face into his neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Dan muttered as he rubbed circles on her back. "You'll remember and everything will be fine." His voice cracked and Caden turned to look at him.

"Daddy, are you okay?"

Serena broke apart from the hug and watched as Dan took Caden in his arms. "Everything's fine buddy. Now tell me, what do you want for your birthday?"

"I want mommy to remember you." Caden said, looking at Serena. "Uncle Chuck said that mommy can't remember you and that it makes you sad. I think mommy's sad too. He said that mommy really wants to remember daddy, but she can't. Uncle Chuck was gonna tell me more, but then Auntie Blair came in and hit him."

Dan let out a strained laugh as he tried to control the emotions battling within. "Auntie Blair hits hard. Remember that. Now, come on. Let's go see the penguins."

Dan held Caden's hand again, trying not to blink, he was certain tears would come streaming down if he did. Serena trailed a few steps back, contemplating what Caden had just said.

They entered the penguin house and Caden once again went up for a closer look, while the couple trailed a few steps back.

"I'm going to kill Chuck." Dan growled. "Didn't Blair tell him not to tell Caden?"

"I don't know, but so what if he knows?" Serena said, placing a hand on his arm, feeling him relax as she did so.

"I didn't want him to know that his mom couldn't remember her husband. He's four, Serena. He doesn't need to know this."

"What if him knowing helps me remember?"

"You remember something?"

Serena sighed, looking away from Dan and towards the four year old little boy. "Sort of. I had this sort of flashback last night. All I could remember was the words 'You laugh like a four year old.'"

She watched as Dan tensed up and relax again. "I guess that's a start."

"Dan.."

"So when is the ball?" Dan asked, cutting her off.

"Next Saturday."

"Your grandmother coming?"

"I think so."

"Who's gonna babysit Caden?"

"Not Chuck."

"Nate it is then."


	7. Chapter 7

"Yes, I want a giant inflatable dinosaur. Preferably a green one." Dan spoke into the phone, his back turned to Serena who was reading a magazine. "Yes, tomorrow. I know its short notice, but I'm willing to pay."

He and Serena had dropped Caden off at Blair's when they came back from Central Park and Dan was now planning Caden's birthday party. Well, he was trying to.

Dan tapped his pen impatiently on the legal pad and gritted his teeth. "Yes, a giant green inflatable dinosaur already blown up. Thank you." He hung up and rubbed his temples in an attempt to calm himself and not hurl the phone across the room.

"Dan?" Serena called tentatively, as she had watched him angrily call many places for Caden's party. He turned to look at her, the tension easing from his face. "Yeah?"

"Maybe you should take a break and let me do the calling." She offered, watching as he hopped off his stool.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." Dan said, rubbing the back of his neck. He walked over to her and handed her the legal pad that had a list of numbers scribbled hastily on there.

"What do you have?" Serena asked, snapping into party-planning mode. Dan pointed to the checked off items. "I have the cake, a giant inflatable dinosaur, and yeah."

"What else do you need?" Serena ran a painted fingernail down the length of the paper and turned to look at Dan.

"I need..uh..wait, I think that's about it." Dan flushed, suddenly embarrassed.

"Oh." Serena slid the pad onto the coffee table and leaned her head back. "Have you gotten him a present?"

"Yeah, I bought it at the zoo today when you two were playing with the seals." Dan yawned and stretched his arms out. Serena giggled and leaned towards him. "Caden's really lucky to have you as a dad."

Dan flushed again. "Thanks. He means the world to me, and I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to him."

Serena nodded and the two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. He reached for the magazine that she had been reading and their fingers brushed. Letting his fingers linger there for a moment longer, Dan turned his smoldering gaze to Serena.

"Hi," He whispered, even though the house was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"Hey." She whispered back, her lips centimeters from his. She leaned over a little bit more and her lips grazed his, causing him to jerk backwards, eyes closed and groaning.

"Serena." Her name came out in a breathless gasp, showing her the effect she had on him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. No words were needed as the two rolled off the couch and onto the floor, their kiss never breaking.

"Serena.." Dan muttered as she fiercely attacked the buttons on his shirt. "We..can't."

"I'm your wife." She replied in a throaty whisper, tugging off his shirt. "Ravish me."

Dan succumbed to her and pressed his lips to hers with such a force that she was taken aback. He tangled a hand in her locks and peppered kisses all over her neck.

The phone rang and Dan ripped his mouth from Serena's. "Don't answer it." She whispered, her nails scrabbling down his chest.

"I have to." He picked himself up and answered the phone, ending its shrill noise.

"Hello?"

"Dan.." A choked voice said his name. It was Blair.

"Blair? What's wrong?" He asked urgently, because she had called him by his first name, not Cabbage Patch, not Brooklyn, but Dan. Serena stood up and walked over to him, her eyes searching his. "What's going on?"

He shushed her, focusing on what Blair was trying to say.

"Dan..something happened to Caden."

Dan snapped his attention back to the phone. "What?"

"We're in the hospital right now. Lenox Hill."

"Blair. What happened?" Dan roared into the phone, trying to steel himself.

"H-he got hit by a taxi. He's okay though, Nate took most of the hit. Caden broke his arm." By now Blair had calmed down enough to tell the story.

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Dan clicked off the phone and for the first time, Serena saw panic in his eyes.

"Dan, what's going on?" Serena asked, her voice small and timid as she handed him his shirt.

"Caden...he.." Dan tried to speak, but a lump in his throat prevented it. "He and Nate got hit by a taxi."

Serena's hand flew to her mouth. "Dan.."

"We need to go to the hospital. Now." He furiously buttoned his shirt, grabbing his wallet and keys at the same time.

He rushed out the door, Serena trailing behind him. He quickly hailed a taxi and opened the door for Serena. "Lenox Hill and step on it." Dan ordered, throwing three twenties at the driver.

Serena watched as Dan tried to contain himself despite the circumstances. She reached over and touched his arm, startling him.

"Hey, its going to be okay." She said in a soothing voice, although she too was wracked with worry. Over the last few days, she had gotten attached to Caden and now to find out that he had gotten hit by a taxi? And Nate! The person who she's known since kindergarten, he was practically her brother.

Dan leaned back in the vinyl seat and closed his eyes. "I can't.." His voice was shaky and he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I can't lose him, Serena. Or Nate. I.." He trailed off, unable to say anymore.

She edged closer to him and clasped his hand. "It's going to be okay," She repeated, her voice cracking. The two continued the ride in silence, only speaking when they arrived.

They stepped out of the taxi and rushed to the ER's reception desk.

Dan spoke quickly and urgently to the lady. "Could you tell me where Nate Archibald and Caden Humphrey are? They were in an accident."

She tapped something into the computer and patiently said, "Mr. Archibald is in room 1307 and Mr. Humphrey should be in room 1220."

"Thank you." Dan headed for the elevator with Serena trailing behind him. He pushed the button hurriedly and paced impatiently while Serena watched him. "Are we going to see Caden or Nate first?"

Dan stopped pacing and turned to look at her. "Caden. They're on the same floor and its quicker to get to Caden." He spoke as if he had been in the hospital many times.

The elevator dinged and they stepped in, Dan quickly pressing another button.

After fifteen seconds of pure torture, they exited the elevator and headed for Caden.

Dan saw Chuck sitting outside a room and rushed over to him. "Chuck!"

"Dan. Serena." His voice lacked the usual sarcasm and smugness.

"What happened?" Serena asked, taking in her step-brother's disheveled clothes.

"Nate, Caden and I were getting coffee when Nate saw Caden walking out into the street. We thought he was inside. Nathaniel...he ran after Caden and there was this taxi and he got hit." Chuck sank back down in the chair and pointed towards the door across from where he was sitting. "That's Nate's room. And there's Caden's." He pointed towards another door. "Blair's with Nate right now."

Dan glanced between the two doors, obviously torn which one to enter first. "Go see Caden." Serena suggested, placing one hand on Dan's shoulder. "I'll go see Nate."

"No." Dan spoke quietly. "I need you to come with me. Please."

"I'll go check up on Nathaniel then." Chuck said, standing up and walking briskly to the first door he gestured to.

Dan looked at Serena, silently pleading. Nodding she took his hand and together they walked into Caden's room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to Manda for helping me with this, editing and bringing forth the NV.**

* * *

"Momma! Daddy!" Caden jumped off of the cot and ran over to them, flinging himself into Dan's awaiting arms.

"Caden. Are you okay?" Dan asked, holding him close.

"Uncle Nate saved me! But I hit my arm and now I got this cool cast with a dinosaur sticker. Isn't it awesome, momma?"

Serena turned her attention to Caden who had let go of Dan and was now standing in front of her expectantly. She picked him up and traced the dinosaur sticker. "That's...a really cool sticker." She mumbled, unsure of what to say.

"Thanks momma! Can we go see Uncle Nate?" Caden asked, his eyes gleaming excitedly. Obviously, no one had told him what had happened to Nate. "Uncle Chuck told me he had to rest, but he's better now right?"

"We don't know yet, Caden. Mommy and daddy have to go see him first." Dan replied, his voice soft and soothing. He took Caden from Serena and ruffled his blonde hair. "We're gonna send Uncle Chuck in, okay?"

Caden nodded, the smile on his face fading slightly. "Uncle Nate will still go to my party, right? He promised that he would bring Victorie."

"I don't know." Dan muttered. "He'll do his best to be there, kay?"

Caden nodded as Dan placed him back onto the cot and reached for Serena's hand. She didn't notice, she was busy staring into space, lost in another misplaced memory.

"_Okay, Serena. One more push and you get your little boy." The doctor said as he urged the nurses to get the scissors ready. _

"_Okay...push!" _

_Serena clutched Dan's hand harder, her face red and sweaty from the effort she was exerting. _

"_Mr. Humph- Dan, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"_

_Dan nodded as he freed his hand from Serena's death grip, placing a swift kiss on her forehead before walking over to the doctor._

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Shaking her head to clear it, she strode over to the door and opened it, revealing none other than Vanessa carrying a baby in her arms.

"Hey Serena, Dan. Have you seen Nate?" Vanessa asked, her voice urgent and one hand resting on her stomach.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know who you are. Are you married to Nate?" Serena asked, eyebrows knitted in confusion.

Vanessa nodded, confirming the obvious. "Yeah, hi. I'm Vanessa." She took her hand off of her stomach and stretched it towards Serena.

Serena took it and Dan spoke up for the first time since Vanessa entered the room. "Hey V. We were just about to go see Nate. Can you stay here with Caden?"

Vanessa debated the options inside her head. Finally, she reluctantly muttered, "Sure." She walked over to Caden, and placed Victorie next to him. "Did you miss Victorie, Caden? She missed you while we went to visit my sister, but she's glad she's back."

"Hey Victorie!" Caden smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Did you miss me?"

Victorie responded by whacking Caden softly in the head. "That's her way of saying hi. She's only eleven months old." Dan quickly explained to Serena, who had a shocked look on her face.

"Oh." Dan and Serena watched the interaction between the two children for a moment longer, before leaving the room in search of Nate.

They entered the room that Chuck had gone into not long ago. There was Blair, holding Chuck's hand, her makeup smudged, an obvious sign that she had been crying.

Dan turned his attention to Nate, who was lying asleep with a cast on his foot. "Is he okay?"

Chuck shook his head slowly. "He's in a coma. We're waiting for him to wake up. But there's a good chance he might not."

Serena quickly took a seat to steady herself. "This...I...Natie."

She spoke the last word with so much care in her voice, Dan couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous, but he quickly brushed the feeling away. "Chuck, Blair, can you go get Vanessa? I-I think she can get it through Nate's thick head to wake up. She's with Caden."

Chuck nodded and took Blair's hand. "Come on. Let's go." They walked, silently out of the room.

Dan stared at Nate's still form, wondering how this could have happened.

"This is all my fault." Serena croaked, silent tears streaming down her face. Not even glancing at Dan's confused expression, she continued. "I-if I remembered you, we wouldn't be here right now." A sob racked her body as she struggled to continue. "Caden wouldn't have had to stay with Blair and then this wouldn't have happened."

Dan took two quick strides and was by her side in a second. He hugged her close, stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder. "Listen Serena. This isn't your fault. Do not blame yourself." His voice was shaky but it calmed her down, her sobs quickly reducing to small hiccups. "Nate's gonna wake up, okay? Everything is going to be fine."

"Okay," She murmured into his shoulder. "Thank you, Dan. I-" She was interrupted by the door opening and Vanessa walking in, her eyes set on Nate. She walked past Dan and Serena and sat in the seat that Blair had previously occupied.

"Nate, sweetie. You have to wake up, okay?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but still clearly audible. "I can't handle Victorie by myself, she'll miss her daddy too much. And I sure as hell can't handle another baby without you." She took his motionless hand and placed it on her stomach, his fingers splayed. Hot angry tears clouded her vision, but she didn't move to brush them away. "I swear, Nathaniel Archibald, if you do not wake up, I will bring you back from the goddamned dead and strangle you to death for leaving me."

Serena chuckled dryly, bringing her presence to Vanessa's attention. "He's going to be okay." Dan muttered, causing both women to look at him.

"You sound so sure." Serena mumbled, still clinging to him. Vanessa couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Well you woke up, didn't you? Besides looks like Nate's waking up." He gestured to Nate with a nod of his head and Vanessa immediately turned around to the stirring Nate.

"What happened?" He asked in a groggy voice. "Damn, my leg hurts." He blinked open his eyes to see an elated Vanessa, and a still embracing Dan and Serena. .

"You got hit by a taxi saving Caden." Dan said, finally releasing Serena. "Thank you so much Nate. I owe you."

"Nate..I'm pregnant." Vanessa said, stroking his cheek gently watching his blue eyes turn to her.

"Really?" He asked, voice cracking in disbelief and happiness. His eyes drifted to her stomach and back to her.

"Really." She confirmed, taking his hand and kissing his palm. "Victorie's going to be a big sister."

Dan placed his hand on the small of Serena's back and whispered, "Let's give them some space."

Serena nodded in agreement and followed Dan out of the door. "Dan, I need to tell you something." She said once they were out of the room.

"What's up?"

"Before Vanessa came in, I remembered something." She paused, unsure if she should continue. "I remembered giving birth to Caden."


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy October 8th!! Big national DS holiday! Hope you're having a good one :D**

* * *

"You..." He paused uncertainly, briefly wondering if she was joking with him. He brushed the thought away and continued. "You remembered. Really?"

Serena nodded, biting her lip. "Are you mad?"

"No, of course not. Why would I be mad? Its a good thing." Dan smiled, pulling her into another hug. "I just can't believe you remember. I-I was sort of thinking that you wouldn't."

"I want to." She said firmly, her voice muffled as her head was buried in his shoulder. "I want to remember _everything_. From our first kiss to Caden's first word."

"I know you do. We all do." He pressed a kiss to her hair, taking in the citrus smell. "By the way his first words were Momma, Daddy and Barney. In that order."

"Barney?" Serena lifted her head from his shoulder, a puzzled expression etched across her face.

"Yeah, we never knew if he meant the dinosaur or the department store." He chuckled lightly before lacing his fingers with hers and pulling away from the hug. "I always had a feeling that Blair was teaching him names of designers and stores while she and Chuck babysat, but I never found out."

Serena giggled, falling into step with him as they walked back to Caden's room. Dan opened the door slowly, nudging it open with his foot. "Chuck, Blair. Nate...he woke up."

The occupants of the room seemed to freeze momentarily, it was dead quiet.

"Yay!! Uncle Nate woke up! He can take Victorie to my party now!" Caden broke the silence, turning to face Victorie who smiled back at him.

"Nathaniel's awake?" Chuck asked, the color rushing back into his face as he followed Blair out the door.

Dan picked up Victorie, playing with her messy curls that she had obviously gotten from her mother. "Hey Victorie," He cooed. "Did you miss me?"

She responded by lightly slapping him, earning a fit of giggles from Caden and Serena. "I'll take that as a yes." Dan said, cradling her closer.

"She has Natie's eyes." Serena mused, playing with Caden's hair.

Caden turned around to look at her. "Hey momma. Uncle Chuck said that you used to kiss Uncle Nate."

Serena froze, unable to think of what to say. "Well..uh I...I"

"But then he said you liked kissing Daddy more and Uncle Nate thought you were icky."

Dan stifled a laugh and knelt down to Caden. "Well Uncle Nate likes kissing your Auntie V more. Besides mommy likes writers, not lacrosse players."

"Uncle Chuck also said that one day I'm gonna marry someone from Victrola. But then Auntie Blair pulled on his ear and yelled at him."

"Okay wise guy. How much does Uncle Chuck tell you?" Dan asked, still laughing.

"Well," Caden tapped his chin thoughtfully. "He always tells me stuff when we're eating ice cream. He said that there was this thing about mommy that I could never tell you, daddy."

"Really? Well you can tell me now. I promise not to tell him." Dan held up his pinky. "I pinky swear."

Caden linked his pinky with Dan's and whispered, "Well he said that once, you broke up with momma. And then momma got all sad, but she wouldn't tell anyone. Then she got sadder when you went on a date with this girl named Amanda. And then he said she lost all of her hair."

"Well that was when me and mommy had some stuff to work out. But we're over it now...almost." Dan scratched the back of his neck, refusing to meet Serena's eyes.

"Does that mean you and momma are gonna be all kissy kissy again?" Caden made a face, his adorable little Dan-like nose scrunched up.

"Yes."

"I don't know."

Dan and Serena spoke simultaneously, Dan's head darting up to look at Serena's. She shot him a sheepish grin and played absently with Caden's hair.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Caden asked, his nose still scrunched as he reached over to play with Victorie.

"That's a yes, sweetie." Serena replied, her voice full of adoration for the little boy. Dan froze, his brown eyes searching hers. She merely sent him another dazzling smile.

"Momma?" Caden asked, eyes looking brighter than ever. "Can I go home tonight? Please? I want to stay with you and daddy so you don't get too mushy. And I really really really miss you."

"You have to ask daddy." Serena replied, flashing Dan a puppy dog pout. "Please?"

Caden caught on and joined in. "Please daddy?"

Dan laughed, making Victorie smile. "How can I say no to that? We'll go pick up your suitcase on the way home. Uncle Nate and Auntie V are going to come over in two days when mommy and I go to the ball."

"Okay!! Can we go see Uncle Nate now?" Caden's head bobbed excitedly.

"In a little bit, okay? You have to stay here until a doctor says you can leave." Dan's voice was patient as he watched the smile drop from Caden's face.

"B-but Uncle Nate saved me. I want to make sure he's okay." Caden frowned, his blonde head drooping.

"You have a point there. I'll go see if I can go find a doctor okay?" Dan asked, setting Victorie down on the bed.

Caden nodded, his face lighting up all over again. "Thank you daddy!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! I'm back with a new chapter and its only been a couple of days! Thanks for all the reviews, 9 reviews for chapter 9! Keep reviewing please, it makes me want to write. Its very inspiring.  
Big thanks to Calie for helping me write this, depriving me of sleep, and letting me annoy the hell out of her with my hyperness. I couldn't have done it without her, well maybe I could've, but it wouldn't be this good. Hope my long authors note hasn't stopped from reading the story, although the chapter is quite long. So please please review, thanks. Also I am moving this story from the GG books section to the TV section, just letting you know. **

* * *

Dan blinked open his eyes and turned so that he was lying on his left side. A smile grew on his face as he watched Caden and Serena sleep contentedly, both snoring slightly. Caden's blonde hair was sticking up on one side as he shifted slightly, a bit of dried drool on his face. Serena on the other hand was looking the same as ever, only asleep.

Dan quietly slipped his way out of the bed, careful not to wake mother and son. Walking downstairs clad in only a t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms, he pulled out his cell phone.

"Blair?"

"What the hell do you want Cabbage Patch? Its early." Blair's voice crackled through and Dan rolled his eyes, wondering when his nickname would get old.

"Can you pick up Caden's cake? I have to set up some stuff and I don't have time." Dan explained, yawning.

"Fine. What time's the party?"

"Two."

"See you there."

Dan hung up the phone, slipping it into his pocket. He padded into the kitchen, plans to surprise Caden and Serena already forming.

--

Serena wasn't sure if she was awoken by the motion of being rocked up and down or the little boy's voice going, "Momma!! Wake up! Its my birthday!!"

Her eyes opened and in front of her was a bouncing Caden, his hair all messed up and in dinosaur pajamas. "Morning." She stifled a yawn and enveloped Caden in her arms, partly to get him to stop jumping, and partly because she wanted to.

"I'm turning five!" Caden held up all five fingers, a grin stretched ear to ear. "Uncle Chuck said that once I turn five, he doesn't have to pay me when he says bad words anymore."

"Don't listen to him. He still has to pay you." Serena said as the door opened to reveal a tray laden Dan.

"Daddy!!" Caden jumped up from Serena's arms, off the bed and hugged Dan's legs.

"Hey buddy. Happy Birthday!" Dan set the tray on the oak desk where most of Dan's writing took place. He picked up Caden and swung him around. "Are you ready for your party today!?"

"Yes!!" The excitement in Caden's voice seemed endless. "Are those pancakes?" He pointed towards the tray, where the smell was quickly filling up the room.

"Yup! Your favorite! Dinosaur shaped."

Dan set Caden down so he could sit and eat the pancakes. He turned to Serena who was staring at the pancakes hungrily.

"Did you think I forgot you, Serena?" Dan asked, his voice light and happy.

She shook her head, ashamed because that was indeed what she had thought. He motioned for her to wait with one finger and stepped back outside the room. He appeared moments later, another tray in hand. This time it was filled with orange juice, strawberries, and a cheese omelet. "I know its kind of wrong that you get a better breakfast than Caden, but I think you deserve it after all you've put up with." He set the tray on her lap, picking up one of the smaller strawberries and holding it to her lips.

She ate the strawberry, her lips brushing against his fingers for a moment longer than necessary. She smiled at him and he did the same, unconsciously picking up another strawberry.

"Ewwww! You're being all mushy again!" Caden's voice interrupted the moment and they both turned to look at him, their faces red.

"Well that's what people who lo-like each other do, sweetie." Serena fumbled through the sentence, turning even redder still.

"So thats why you have to kiss all the time?" Caden asked, shoving a piece of pancake into his mouth. "Uncle Chuck said that if people don't kiss, they don't feel very good and they need really really really cold showers."

"_Uncle_ Chuck is crazy." Dan muttered, shoving the strawberry into his mouth, and sliding off of the bed. "I'm gonna go change. I don't think that flannel pajama pants are party attire."

--

It was two-thirty and the party was in full swing. From Grandpa Rufus to Uncle Eric, each one of Caden's favorite relatives had arrived. Not to mention of course, all of his friends.

Everything had gone according to plan, the giant green inflatable dinosaur greeted guests on their way in the front door, a large stack of presents sat on the coffee table, just waiting to be opened and the cake was in the freezer, ready to be taken out.

The only thing missing was Nate, Vanessa, and Victorie. "Daddy? Where's Uncle Nate? He promised to be here." Caden asked, looking up at Dan.

"He's gonna be here, Caden. He just called and told me that they're running a little late, but don't worry okay?" Dan ruffled Caden's hair and pushed him lightly towards his friends. "Go have fun, we're going to cut the cake soon."

However, when the time came to cut the cake, Nate, Victorie, and Vanessa were no where to be seen. This time Caden went to Serena, in search of his Uncle. "Momma, where's Uncle Nate?"

"I don't know sweetie." Serena knelt down beside him and picked him up. "Let's go cut the cake okay?"

Caden nodded, the small frown on his face turning into a smile when he saw the cake. Chocolate Ice Cream Fudge Cake.

Dan lit the candles before glancing towards the doors. Serena caught him looking and shot him a worried look. Shrugging, he started to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Caden! Happy birthday to you!"

"Make a wish, buddy!"

Caden smiled and closed his eyes. _I wish for momma to remember daddy. Oh and for Uncle Nate, Auntie V and Victorie to come. _

He blew out the candles, just as the hot green wax was about to drip down onto the cake. Caden looked around for Serena, wondering why she wasn't next to him.

Dan nudged Serena gently and whispered in her ear, "You're supposed to cut the cake with him. It's kind of a tradition, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to." She knelt down next to Caden, taking the hand that was holding the small plastic knife and slicing it down.

"Thank you, momma." Caden pressed a kiss to Serena's cheek before smearing chocolate frosting on her face.

Serena laughed, grabbing a dollop of the chocolate and brushing it on Caden's nose. Everyone around them joined in laughing, the laughter echoing in the house. The front door banged open and Nate stumbled in, clutching his leg and muttering, "Damn leg!"

"Uncle Nate!" Caden exclaimed running towards him, arms outstretched. "You came!"

"Yup and I brou- is that chocolate on your nose?" Nate grunted as he hugged Caden, making his way over to the couch. Everyone out burst out laughing again, this time less engaged for everyone had cake in their mouths.

"Where's Victorie?" Caden asked, taking a plate of cake and shoving it into his mouth.

"In the car. She'll be here in a second." Vanessa and Victorie stumbled in a few seconds later, heading immediately for the cake and the birthday boy.

Dan observed the scene around him before turning to Serena, who was poking at her cake. "Hey."

"Hi." She smiled at him, shyly almost.

"You..uh still have frosting on your face." He pointed towards her cheek where indeed a glob of chocolate frosting still remained.

"Oh." She moved to brush it off, but managed to miss it altogether. "Did I get it?"

Chuckling, Dan shook his head. "Here," he moved towards her, setting his paper plate down. "Let me get it." He took her face in his hands and wiped off the frosting with the pads of thumbs. He pulled away, a long line of frosting on his thumb.

Without thinking anything of it, Serena licked his thumb, wiping it clean of any trace of chocolate that had been there a second ago.

Dan paused, his thumb still at Serena's lips. She smiled at him and leaned closer, whispering, "You have some too." Her face grew closer still. "Riight here." She kissed him, sucking lightly on his top lip and she could taste the remains of the chocolate cake.

He pulled away, laughing. "Did you get it off?"

Serena giggled, her nose scrunching as she shook her head, blonde curls flying.

Dan leaned down towards her. "Well we ought to fix that shouldn't we?" He captured her lips with his, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. Their tongues swirled around one another's as they soon forgot they were in a crowded room, full of adults and children.

Caden looked around, his curiosity peaked by the sudden silence. He turned around to see Dan and Serena still locked in a kiss. He ran up to them, chocolate frosting still on his face, and tugged on Dan's pants and Serena's skirt. "Momma, daddy! Everyone's staring at you!"

They broke apart laughing, their cheeks flushed. Serena leaned down and picked up Caden, giving him a motherly kiss, half on the lips, half on his cheek. "Mommy was just cleaning daddy's face, darling. He had frosting all over him."

"No he didn't! You had some, but then daddy cleaned it and his face was-"

Serena cut off his rambling, laughing. "Okay, okay smarty. Fine, mommy just wanted to kiss daddy. Is that so bad?"

A smile spread on Caden's face as he shook his head. "Nope. But its kinda mushy."

Serena giggled and set Caden down. "Go finish your cake, you boy genius."

He was about to run off when he ran into Chuck. "Uncle Chuck!! Did you see momma and daddy kiss? It was really mushy, like you said!"

Chuck chuckled as he grabbed a soda from the nearby table. "You're mother's a liar, Caden."

Dan rolled his eyes, cracking open a bottle of water. "No she's not, no she's not. Don't listen to him Caden. Lying isn't good and mommy didn't lie. She was just making up excuses because she wanted to kiss me." The Cheshire Cat grin made its way onto Dan's face. "And that's okay, you know. Us Humphrey men have to learn to deal with that, son. Just go ask grandpa."

Caden smiled and took the napkin Chuck handed him to wipe off his face. "Hmmm, I think I believe daddy." Serena felt a pinch on her butt as Dan joined her on the other side of the counter. "Everyone's always warning me about stuff Uncle Chuck says."

"Well thats because they don't want you exposed to the truth." Chuck smirked, putting a hand on Caden's shoulder. "Come on, lets go get more cake before we open presents." He led Caden away, leaving Dan and Serena in the kitchen alone.

Serena felt Dan's hand sneak down to her butt again and she slapped his arm. "Dan! Stop it you, seriously. We have guests!"

He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're forgetting one thing, Serena. The kitchen counter. I don't think that they are transparent, so therefore anything that goes on below our waists can not be seen by anyone except ourselves."

She smiled and rolled her eyes as he leaned into kiss to cheek. "Now _that_ they can see." She pointed out, her cheek pink where he kissed her.

"Yes, but I don't care if they see that, and neither do you, do you?" Dan pulled her into him so that her back was against his chest and his head was on her shoulder.

Serena felt goosebumps form her arms from being so close to him. She shook her head, biting her lip, half wanting to turn around and kiss him again.

"Well I do!" Blair burst in, a very Chuck-looking smirk etched on her face. "God, you two. I'm surprised Caden hasn't got any brothers or sisters running around to help him celebrate his birthday."

Dan and Serena both turned pink, automatically moving away from each other.

"Blair, don't"

She was cut off by Blair saying, "Okay, I'm kidding, but wow...you two are really quite the couple." When she noticed the blank stares on the couple's faces, she continued, in a softer more sincere tone. "I'm just saying its nice. To see you two like this again. Its been too long."

Dan turned his head to the side, trying to hide the small tears welling up. Blair smiled at him before hugging Serena, who had a tear running down her cheek. "I'm so proud of you S. I've missed you. We all have. Including Caden. He looks really happy today and I'm sure its not only because its his birthday."

"Thanks Blair." Dan said, his voice choked up. "It means a lot to me...us." She pulled away from Serena and nodded at him.

"Momma, are you okay?" They turned around to see Caden standing there, holding a brightly wrapped present and looking worried.

Serena hurriedly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Of course I am. Let's go open your presents okay?"

Caden nodded, letting his mom lead him over to the couch, Dan and Blair trailing behind.

--

Hours later, the house was clean, and the ground was littered with toys of various shapes, sizes and prices. Dan and Serena were sitting on the floor, with Caden between them. "Did you have a good birthday, son?" Dan asked, reaching behind him.

"Yes daddy! Thank you so much for letting me have a party! I got so many cool presents, right momma?"

Serena nodded in agreement as Dan pulled out another wrapped present. "Well this is a special one from mommy and I. We got it for you a long time ago." He handed it to Caden who set down the helicopter he was playing with and ripped it open. Dan met Serena's confused gaze and smiled at her, gesturing for her to look at the present.

It was a professional photograph of the three of them on the beach. They were dressed in white and looked as if they were soaking wet. Serena took one look at it and was transported into another memory.

"_Caden! Be careful, okay?" Serena called as he ran out into the ocean with Dan._

"_Serena, why don't you come over here?" Dan yelled back, looking adorable alongside Caden._

"_Yeah momma! Come here!" Caden joined in, his button down fluttering in the wind._

_Smiling, she took off her heels and padded across the sand, holding her dress up. "Okay, I'm here. What now?"_

"_What? Staring at Caden and I isn't enough?" He joked, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head._

_Serena giggled, leaning closer to her husband. "We should get pictures taken. This is a perfect day for it."_

"_We should. Want me to call Lily?"Dan asked, taking Serena's hand and kissing her knuckles. _

"_Yeah, sure. You and Caden are so handsome right now with your tans, so why not?" Serena hoisted Caden onto her lap, playing with his hair._

"Hey, I remember this!" Caden's voice interrupted Serena's trance like state. "This was when we went to the beach house and momma said that me and daddy looked handsome in our tans. So then grandma came and took pictures of us!"

"That's right buddy." Dan said reaching behind Caden and rubbing Serena's back comfortingly. He gave her a look as if to say that it was more of a present for her than Caden.

"This is the best present ever! It shows everyone the real present I got for my birthday." Caden looked at the picture once again.

"And what's that, baby?"

Caden leaned up and cupped Serena's ear with one small hand. "You, momma."

Those two words whispered in her ear, made tears well up and her heart melt. Dan put an arm around Caden's back, hugging him and kissing the top of his head. "Good boy, darling" Caden beamed up at his daddy while the tears started to flow from Serena's eyes. Hearing Dan call Caden 'darling' broke the dam.

Not wanting Caden to see her break down like this, Serena cast her gaze downward and muttered, "Okay, Caden you just play with your new toys with daddy for a while, okay? Mommy will be back in a bit."

Not one to be tricked, Caden noticed Serena crying and said, "Daddy, momma's crying. You gotta make her feel better. Maybe one of those kisses will make her happy, like before."

Serena smiled at him and stood up, the track of tears slowly stopping. "Trust me Caden. Mommy's happier right now than she's been in a long time. Sometimes people cry when they're really happy, it's okay."

By then Dan had stood up as well, ruffling Caden's blonde hair on the way up. "But lets try one of those kisses anyway, shall we?" Serena smiled at him as he leaned in and kissed her gently before kissing a salty tear, that had remained on her cheek, away. He hugged her as he whispered, "The rest of the photos are on my desk in the study, if you want to look. I didn't want to say anything until-" He paused, licking his lips while thinking of what to say.

Serena nodded, "Yeah, I was about to ask. I want to see them, because...Dan I remember that day. I really do." She smiled at him, before hearing a yawn being emitted from the little five year old who was playing with another toy.

"Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back. Besides someone needs to entertain the birthday boy." He kissed her again, before pulling away and sitting down next to Caden.

She walked towards the study, pushing open the oak door and immediately falling into the plush leather chair that was sitting right by the desk.

Picking up the framed photos, she began to sort slowly through them. A photo of Caden and his father making funny poses towards the camera, and another picture of herself and Dan kissing quickly became her favorites. But what really caught her eye and heart was a family picture. Caden's hair was plastered to his head, Dan looked thoroughly soaked and Serena herself was just as wet as Dan. They were sitting on the rocks, huddled together because of the cold but still they managed to smile at the camera.

She set the photos back down and made her way back out to the living room where Dan sat on the couch with Caden snuggled into his lap fast asleep. The TV was on as well, it was turned to the news and the volume was turned down so that the five year old wouldn't be awaken.

Serena leaned down and placed a kiss on Caden's temple. Dan smiled at her and shuffled a bit over. She sat down, tucking her head into the crook of his neck as he rubbed up and down her arm with his hand. They silently finished watching the news, Dan occasionally squeezing Serena's arm and kissing her hair.

Serena turned to look at him, her emerald eyes shining. She smiled at him and Dan leaned down to kiss her, his lips parted. He pulled back after a few seconds, his eyes meeting hers. Cupping her face with one hand, he leaned down to kiss her again. The kisses quickly became longer and harder. Serena had one leg resting on his, right next to Caden's head.

"This can't be good for my back." She pulled away from him and watched as he slowly moved Caden's head off his knees so that he could stand up. He pulled her off of the couch, wrapping his arms around her waist, tugging her closer.

Putting her arms around his neck, she smashed her lips to his. She broke away from the kiss gasping as he trailed butterfly kisses down her neck. She impatiently brought his lips back to hers, grabbing hold of his hair. She started to walk backwards to find some sort of wall that she could push him against and stepped on one of Caden's newly acquired toy.

Letting out a loud "To the batmobile!!" the toy started vibrating and Caden, disturbed by the noise woke up to see a very guilty look Dan and Serena with swollen lips and disheveled clothes. "Hey momma, daddy! Were you being all mushy again?"

Dan stepped away from Serena, their faces both a nice shade of red. "Come on Caden. Its bed time."

"Ah...do I have to?" Caden asked, his lips cast downward in a pout.

Dan rolled his eyes as he picked up Caden, flipping him upside down. "You need a bath, birthday boy. Come on."

He carried him upstairs, Serena following and giggling the whole way. "Can you get his pajamas?" Dan asked, setting Caden down and running the water for his bath.

"Yeah sure." She walked out of the bathroom and into Caden's room. Opening a drawer, she dug around before finding some pajamas with rockets on them and dinosaur boxers. Picking up a cartoon covered towel along the way, she walked into the bathroom where Caden was freshly bathed and wrapped in a fluffy white towel.

"Hey momma!" Caden smiled broadly at her. "Daddy said that I can get my cast off soon."

"That's right, but you have to be careful not to get it wet." Serena ruffled his damp hair before retreating back to Caden's room. She arranged the throw pillows against the end of the bed on the carpet with all the soft toys that lined them.

Dan and Caden came in a few minutes later, Dan slightly wet. Caden ran towards the bed, bouncing on it before settling down. Dan joined Caden and Serena on the bed, his weight causing the bed to shift.

"Momma?" Caden stopped playing with his teddy bear and looked at Serena. "Do you remember daddy yet?"

Serena pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Not yet, darling. I remember a little. Like that day on the beach in this picture." She fingered the picture that rested on Caden's besides table. "And the day you were born."

"I really really wish you remembered. Even though you and daddy do go around kissing and saying, 'I love you' all the time."

Dan blushed for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night. "Well uh..I..yeah."

"It's okay, I do. I do love you." Serena said, each word coming out slowly but firmly. Dan averted his eyes, and bit his lip.

"Come on little man. Its time to go to sleep, okay?" Dan quickly changed the subject as he lifted the covers up so Caden could slide under.

"Say goodnight to your momma, Caden. Give her a big five year old kiss!" Dan said, smiling as Serena cast a glance his way.

"Daddy? What's a big five year old kiss?" Caden's blonde head was cocked, waiting for an answer. "Are they like the ones you were giving momma when she stepped on my batman toy?"

Dan chuckled as Serena hurriedly stammered out a response "No no no no no sweetheart. Those kind of kisses are only for mommy and daddy, okay? Here." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Now its time to sleep, kay?"

"Okay." Caden sighed as he closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. When his breathing became even, Dan and Serena crept out of the bed slowly, careful not to disturb him. Both of their hands reached out for the light switch, turning it off. Dan closed the door gently and leaned against it, looking into Serena's eyes.

He took her hand, his thumb brushing gently against her knuckles. "Thank you, Serena."

"For what?"

"Giving our son the best birthday party ever." He brought her hand up and kissed it, sending shivers down her back.

She smiled and her voice was tender as she said, "It was my pleasure, really. I had so much fun, and remembering the day at the beach, I just-"

"I know. It..it's incredible, and I'm so proud of you." He had let go of her hand and was now holding on firmly to each of her hips as he continued. "I just don't want you saying those three words until you really-"

"Dan, I love you. I really do. I know I haven't been back with you for long, but I can tell. The way I feel when I look at you and Caden together, the way I feel when you kiss me, when you say my name; it's love. It really is. Looking at those photos and remembering Caden's birth, I knew. I knew I loved you then. And I love you now. I really really do." Serena grasped his shoulders, wanting him to believe her.

He searched her eyes for even a glimmer of doubt. Finding none, he took her in his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest. "I love you too, Serena. Always and forever." He ducked his head down and kissed her briefly before picking her up and carrying her to their room.

When they got there, he lay her down on the bed and allowed her to pull him down so he was lying beside her. He crushed his lips to hers again, deepening the kiss, his tongue exploring her welcoming mouth. Feeling her grasp his hair made him pull back slightly. "I...we can't sleep in these kind of clothes, you know." He muttered, pulling himself up. "We ought to get changed."

"Okay." She nodded in agreement, heading for the closet. "Should I-?"

Dan shook his head. "I have pajama bottoms out here. I'll just change here."

Returning to the bedroom in an old white t-shirt just long enough to cover her panties, Serena found Dan with his back to her, sitting on the edge of the bed in just his boxers, looking at a photo of him and Serena he kept in his drawer by the bed. She crawled over the bed quietly, giving him a small fright when her cold hands came into contact with his bare arms, and she placed a kiss on his neck.

"Hey" he whispered, looking around at her.

"When was that, I look so young?!" she exclaimed when she saw the photo in Dan's hands.

"Your mother's wedding to Bart… God I loved that yellow dress. You looked amazing that night, Serena."

"Aww well we do look like quite the perfect couple, don't we? We went together did we?"

"Yeah. Yeah it was a um…" wanting to save that story for another night, Dan was relieved when Serena interrupted him as she so loved to do.

"Looks like a good night. Although I don't see how spending a night dancing with you on a dance floor could not be a good night." She leaned in to kiss him.

Smiling and wishing it were true, Dan put the photo down and turned around to face her, taking her face in his hands. "Come here you."

Dan pushed her back onto the bed, and beamed at Serena who couldn't stop giggling. .

"What?"

"Nothing," she managed in between giggles, her hand in front of her mouth.

"No, what is it? Do I still have chocolate frosting on my face?" He began to giggle. At that she laughed even harder, unable to hold it in.

"Serena stop it, what is it?" he shook her head in between his hands.

She managed to compose herself, but chuckled involuntarily as she said "It's just… I think I may have just heard your bedroom voice for the first time." She blushed a little as she took his face in her hands and imitated him melodramatically, "Come here you".

"Okay that's enough" he laughed, pinching her pink cheeks. "And trust me it's not the first time you've heard that" he said suggestively, rolling over and pulling her on top of him.

Her laughter was silenced by his kisses, which became longer and deeper as she lay on top of him, her legs straddling one of his. One of his hands rested under her shirt on the warm skin of Serena's back where it met her panties, the other lost in her golden locks. She held his hair also, and used her other hand to explore his naked upper body.

Serena was surprised at how at-ease she felt with Dan. Whilst she had no doubt that she had loved him, and indeed loved him in this moment, she couldn't help but feel a little astonished at how relaxed she was lying on top of him pressing her body against his and having him feel her exposed skin and panties. She drew back from the kiss and bit her lip seductively, staring him in the eye as she kneeled up straddling his hips and then sat down on his lower stomach. The sensation of her warmth so close to him forced Dan to close his eyes before he reached out and placed his hands on her hips.

Serena smiled and scrunched her nose up adorably as she slowly pulled the white shirt up and over her head, her hair spreading out loosely over her shoulders when it was off. Dan had to blink again as he tried not to stare at the part of her he remembered so vividly but hadn't seen in months. She bit her lip, smiling, as she leaned down and trailed a line of kisses from Dan's chest, up his neck to behind his ear.

Dan emitted an involuntary groan at the feeling of her breasts brushing his chest, and turned his face to capture her lips forcefully. He flipped her over so he was now on top of her, and squeezed her hair as their tongues continued to twirl around one another's.

He pulled back resting his weight on his left arm, and used his right to draw a line from her neck to her breast which he massaged gently. She leaned up for another kiss, her hand on his back pulling him down onto her. Just as her hand slipped under his boxer shorts the two were interrupted.

"DADDY! What are you doing on top of momma? You'll squash her!" A high-pitched voice shouted.

"Caden!" Serena and Dan both yelled as they jolted with shock. The light came on, and Serena looked up, Dan turning around to find their adorable son standing in the doorway.

Caden ran up and climbed onto the bed, a confused look still on his face, and his parents still too startled to do or say anything.

"It's okay momma, here I'll help. Daddy, get off her please" His little hands pushed against Dan's side. Dan and Serena both laughed at Caden's best intentions.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay. Mommy likes it when daddy does that to her, trust me."

"Tell me about it" Serena muttered under her breath as she leaned up in hope of seeing her shirt somewhere.

Dan rolled off Serena, lying next to her but in front of Caden in an attempt to cover Serena from his view. While Serena pulled the sheet up to her neck, Caden asked his daddy for a Superman ride, and ran to jump on Dan's legs. Serena, beginning to feel flustered at the thought of Caden seeing her topless, continued to fumble around with the sheet up over her chest, trying to find her shirt.

"Dan, where's my shirt?"

Dan was lying on his back now, knees up and feet in the air, with Caden lying on his lower legs as if he were flying. Concentrating on not dropping their son, Dan hardly heard Serena's mumbling.

"Pardon, baby?"

"My shirt, you know that I was wearing before, and probably should be wearing now!"

"Ohh right, umm no not sure, is it over on the floor on your side?" He tried to help.

"No I don't get it where could it have gone, maybe-"

"Momma!" Caden looked over at his mom, his hands stretched out in front like Superman. "Why are you so worried about your shirt? It doesn't matter, daddy's not wearing a shirt."

Dan laughed at his son's naivety. "Yeah but girls are different to us aren't they little man that's why they have to wear bras, you know that." Serena smiled, her eyebrows raised at the manly conversation taking place beside her.

"Yeah but it doesn't matter I've seen momma's boobies before it's no big deal!" Serena gasped a little at this, as Dan reached over and pinched her side under the sheet, and mumbled "oh they're a pretty big deal alright!"

"Oh you two are naughty boys" Serena joked, freeing herself from the sheet and grabbing Caden off Dan's legs. She pulled him down and placed him on the bed between her and Dan, growling jokingly at him as she tickled his little pajama-clad body all over. Dan then joined in the fun, wrapping one arm around Serena's bare back and tickling her, and using the other to help tickle their son.

The three giggled in unison, Dan and Serena soon forgetting the disappointment and dissatisfaction they had felt when their son initially interrupted.

"Owwww who was that?!" Serena exclaimed as she felt a fingernail scratch her side. Immediately Dan's thumb found the spot on her skin rubbed it tenderly, while Caden put on the most innocent face he could muster, his hands forming a shrugging "I don't know" position on his sides.

"Well. Firstly I think mommy and I both know how that happened," Dan joked, and laughed as he added, "but I think it's mommy's fault for having no top on."

Finding Serena's shirt curled in a ball under the quilt, Dan pulled her up and said "Come on, arms up!" just as he did to Caden every day. Caden giggled at his mommy being treated like a child, and jumped up to wrap his arms round Serena's neck.

"I'm sorry for hurting you momma, I really am."

"Aww that's okay sweetheart it was just an accident. I know that. Daddy was just teasing." Dan felt a pinch on his leg and wrapped an arm around each of the two people he loved most, leaning in to kiss his wife on the lips.

"Okay you two, it's waaaay past Caden's bedtime. In fact it's probably past mommy and daddy's too. Let's get some sleep.

"Here? Can I sleep with momma and daddy in their bed?"

Not knowing the answer, Serena looked at Dan, her eyebrows furrowed and mouth turning into a smile. Knowing exactly what Serena was thinking, Dan answered for her.

"Of course you can buddy." Serena's smiled broadened as she scrunched her nose and leaned over her son to kiss Dan.

"But no more kissing!" Caden warned abruptly, holding his finger up in front of him as he lay down on the mattress between them.

"But we can still kiss you, right?" Serena teased, leaning over and plastering sloppy kisses all over Caden's face, Dan soon joining in.

"Aahhh stop it!" the adorable little five year old screamed, giggling.

"Okay. We'll stop. Just one more mommy and daddy kiss though, okay?"

"Okay" Caden agreed reluctantly.

Serena chuckled as she placed her hand over Caden's eyes and allowed Dan to take her face in his hands. His lips wrapped around her own and their tongues touched as they kissed into each other all the passion and heat they had been feeling before Caden had entered the room.

Serena let out a tiny involuntary moan at the feeling of Dan sucking on her lower lip and then kissing along her jaw line to her ear. Her hand automatically left Caden's eyes and pulled his head into her, as she bit on his ear seductively.

"Okay. Bed time." Dan whispered.

Her mouth remaining by Dan's ear, Serena reassured him, "I love you."

Dan pulled her face so it was in front of his, pressed their foreheads together as he told her so sincerely "I love you too."

They slowly rubbed their noses against each other before looking down to find their son sleeping ever so peacefully, he'd turned to face Dan and had one hand under his head, the other gripping the quilt.

Dan slowly removed the covers from his own body, and tiptoed around the bed, sliding in behind Serena.

"What are you doing?" she whispered. "I'm not moving him baby he's fast asleep."

"It's okay, I'll fit." Dan reassured her, pulling her back down onto the mattress and allowing her body to stay in its position facing Caden.

Dan matched his body to hers, his legs filling the concave behind hers, as he slid his arm over hers and linked their fingers together.

They fell asleep in this position, Dan's head nestled behind Serena's neck, so whenever he stirred from his sleep he pressed his lips to her neck, loving the feel of her hair against his nose, whispering to her stunning sleeping figure, "I love you, Serena Humphrey."

* * *

**REVIEW!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay so I lied and during the course of writing this chapter I decided to move the story back to the book section. Sorry for any confusion! This one is really long but really worth it, so please take some time, read and review. This is a bit of a M rated chapter as there is...well I can't say otherwise it'd be ruined. So do not read if you are not of age or mature enough.**

**Big Big BIG thanks to Calie helping me while I wrote this, helping me write it, letting me deprive her of exam writing time. So if you fail, Calie, I'm really really sorry, but you won't so yeah lol. I really could not have done it without her.**

**Also thanks to the ladies at FF, you kept me wanting to write more :D**

**Also thanks to Keri, without her I wouldn't have chapter 12, she's a very inspiring friend, who happens to get cases of I-Miss-Steph lol, which actually makes me feel better and write a whole lot more.**

**Chapter 12 will be up soon, so review(Yes, I'm talking about you Laura) and I'll post it as soon as possible :D**

**If you go to my profile, I've put up hyper links of Caden, actually its the closest thing I could find to Caden Humphrey. So check them out, and tell me what you think in your reviews!**

"Good morning sweetheart." Serena cooed, stroking Dan's cheek as he woke up. "You were drooling a bit. Were you dreaming about me?"

Dan laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning to you too. And yes, I actually was dreaming of you. Where's Caden?"

"Our darling son is getting dressed. He wants to make the most of the afternoon before we go to the debutante ball." She snuggled into his side, the touch of his bare skin driving her insane.

"Do we have to go to that?" He lifted her chin up with a finger, kissing her. "How about we just stay home.....and have our own type of fun?"

Serena giggled, rolling over so that she was lying fully on top of him. "You know I want to," She purred, her voice seductive. "But we promised my grandma."

"Why is everyone always trying to squash each other!?" Caden's voice rang loudly in the practically silent room. "Don't you know that you can get hurt?"

Serena scrunched her nose at Dan before rolling off to greet the five year old. "Mommy's not heavy like daddy." She stuck her tongue out at Dan.

"Good morning Caden." Dan said, stepping out of bed and pulling on a pair of jeans. "Mommy's right. She isn't _that_ heavy."

Serena smacked his arm and walked over to pick up Caden. "So what do you want for breakfast, sweetie?"

"Umm....French toast! But I want daddy to make it." He smiled innocently at Serena who in turn looked over at Dan.

"Well, um, there was this incident." He paused, fidgeting nervously. "Like 7 months ago, you tried to cook breakfast for us. And let's just say there was a fire. A small fire, but a fire."

"I'm that bad?" Serena asked, eyebrows raised.

Caden nodded. "It was really funny, momma. Daddy had to go get the hose and spray it and we had to go stand over by the couch while he fixed it. And then we didn't even get bacon and eggs!"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Well there are plenty of other things you're good at, Serena." He said, winking.

Caden noticed the wink that his dad had shot at Serena and asked, "Like what, daddy? What's momma good at?"

Dan raised his eyebrows suggestively at a scarlet red Serena and said, "Well she's good at making everything better, isn't she?"

Caden agreed excitedly as he was slowly lowered to the ground, but Serena didn't hear him. She was engulfed in another memory.

"_Momma! Daddy!" The five year old yelled, his usually happy voice filled with panic. "I'm bleeding!" _

_Dan and Serena stopped what they were doing and ran out to the backyard. Dan scooped up Caden protectively, his eyes taking in the fallen, red bicycle. "Daddy, I hurt my knee." Little tears leaked out of Caden's eyes, streaming down his face._

_Serena, who had momentarily disappeared, came out holding a box of dinosaur band aids and a wet cloth. "This is going to hurt a little, but mommy will make everything better, kay?_

_Caden nodded, tears still coming out, but slower now. "Now just hold onto daddy's hand real nice and tight while I clean the scrape." Dan nodded and took Caden's hand willingly, just as he had done for Serena in the hospital when she was in a lot more pain than Caden was. Serena dabbed the cloth onto the scrape, receiving a hiss from Caden. She gave him an apologetic look and proceeded to quickly clean the wound before applying a blue and black dinosaur sticker._

"_There. All better." She announced, kissing it gingerly. Dan smiled as he leaned in and did the same._

Dan started walking towards her the moment she got lost in the trance. She blinked once. Then twice. Somehow knowing that he could move her now, he placed his arms around her, placing a small kiss on her neck.

She snapped back into the present, smiling. She hugged him back, and if possible, tighter. She then stepped out of the embrace, and picked up Caden, squeezing him tight and kissing his temple.

Dan smiled, putting his arms around his wife and child, wrapping them both in a hug. Serena leaned forward slightly and whispered in Dan's ear, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me remember." She touched his lips with hers, losing herself in the moment.

"EWWWWW!!" Caden stuck his tongue out. "You said you would stop kissing!"

"That was last night." Dan said, chuckling as he pulled away from Serena. "Come on. Let's go get some breakfast."

--

Serena and Caden were fed with an amazing breakfast of French toast, orange juice and various fruits. With no other words to describe it, it was simply...heavenly. Being with her family was something she was sure would never come again. So even if she couldn't remember everything, she ought to make the most of what she has. Including an adorable five year old and one sexy as hell husband.

They were now sitting in the backyard, Caden playing in the grass and Dan and Serena laying together in the hammock. "Tonight's the deb ball." He mused, playing absently with her hair before turning his attention back to Caden, who was chasing butterflies.

"Yeah. We went together to mine, right?" She questioned him, wrapping his gray cardigan around her form tightly as a breeze blew by.

"Not exactly." He murmured carefully, kissing her so that she wouldn't ask too much into it. She kissed back, clutching his shoulders. She broke the kiss, slightly breathless as she traced his jaw.

"I love you, Daniel Humphrey." She nuzzled his nose with hers, eyes closing slightly. They lay back on the slightly rocking hammock, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"I love you too." He whispered, glad that the kiss had made her forget the topic of their small conversation. "I love you, Serena Celia Humphrey. More than you'll ever know."

"Momma! I got this for you!" Caden came running up and jumped onto the hammock, handing Serena a white carnation.

"It's so pretty. Thanks, darling." Serena stuck it behind her ear, the white flower making Dan want to just lean over and...Damn.

"You're very pretty momma." Caden informed her, snuggling in between her and Dan. Dan ruffled the little boy's hair, causing one side to stick up quite badly. "Daddy! You're messing up my hair!"

Dan chuckled, ruffling Caden's hair again. "Real men don't care about how their hair looks. You're gonna be like Uncle Nate."

"Is that a bad thing daddy?" Caden looked confused.

"No" "Yes" Serena and Dan responded in unison.

"Well it's not darling, but just remember momma chose daddy, not Uncle Nate."

"Yes she did." Dan smiled as he leaned across Caden to kiss Serena.

"You had to choose?!" Caden asked once his parents stopped kissing.

"Yes we had to, sweetie. What if I told you, you needed to marry the neighbor's daughter, Calie?"

Caden's nose scrunched up. "Ew. Girls have cooties, momma! Except for Victorie."

"So wouldn't your mommy have cooties too? She's a girl." Dan pointed out.

"Momma's married, daddy! It doesn't count then." Caden switched back to the old subject with ease. "Well what would have happened if mommy chose Uncle Nate?"

"The world would be a terrible terrible place, son."

"Why, daddy?"

"Because then we wouldn't have you, darling." Serena cut in, playing with the strands of hair on Caden's head.

Caden gasped, "What?"

"Well you're alive,Caden, because mommy and daddy love each other so much they wanted to have a baby" Dan muttered, reaching for Serena's hand.

"Before momma got hurt?"

"Yes darling" Serena took Dan's hand and kissed the top of Caden's head.

"Well how did you make me anyways? Where did I come from? And I know I'm not from the stork because Uncle Chuck said that I wasn't."

Dan and Serena shared glances as they chuckled at the unsuspecting five year old.

"Oh lets save that story for another day, baby." Serena said, intertwining her fingers with Dan's.

"You know those kisses you hate so much, Caden?" Dan asked, kissing Serena's knuckles, pausing slightly at the two rings.

"Uh-huh! The really really mushy ones?"

Serena rolled her eyes at Dan, giggling playfully.

"Lots, and lots, and lots of those. Thats how we made you." Dan replied, closing the subject and receiving even more giggles from Serena.

--

"Did Vanessa pick up Caden?" Serena called from inside the bathroom. She had been there for the last forty five minutes and Dan really needed to take a shower.

"Yeah. Can I come in?" His hand rested on the door knob, not caring whether she said yes or no.

"Sure." The answer came out hesitantly. He opened the door and stepped inside the marble bathroom. Serena was sitting on the closed toilet seat, wearing nothing other a silk slip, painting her toenails.

"Hey." Dan muttered, pulling his t-shirt off. He quickly undid his belt and slid his jeans down to his ankles, stepping out of them.

"Hey. Taking a shower?" She asked, blushing slightly as he pulled his boxers down. Skimming her eyes over his form, she realized she had no memory of ever seeing him completely naked. And boy was he a looker.

"Yeah, want to join me?" He winked at her, making his way across the vast bathroom. "I'm just kidding." He added when she turned redder still. He put his hands on the sides of her head, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not going to force you into anything, I promise." He tilted her chin up and kissed her, another memory flashing in her head.

_It was a snowy night, Christmas Eve to be exact. Dan and Serena were both 18, ready to take on a new world one step at a time, together. They were walking along Central Park, Dan's arm tight around Serena._

"_I love the snow." Dan stated, his hot breath visible in the cold air. "And Christmas Eve."_

"_Last year, Christmas Eve...was the best ever." Serena murmured, her cheeks red from the cold and the memory of last year._

"_Yeah, it was." Dan agreed, turning to kiss her. "I need to show you something."_

"_Okay. What is it?"_

_Dan pulled out a piece of paper from his coat pocket, unfolded it and handed it to her, along with a pen. "I started writing a new story. And I want you to finish it." _

"_Dan, you know I'm not a good writer." Serena protested, not taking the paper._

"_Fine, how about I read you what I have and you tell me what I should have next?" He handed her the pen the moment she nodded. He licked his lips and started reading from memory, not even looking down at the paper. "In New York , there was a young couple that defied all odds. He was a boy from Brooklyn. She was a girl from Manhattan. They met and fell in love. They survived two years of drama, separation, and angst. And then one day, Christmas Eve, they were walking in Central Park. It was almost midnight and the boy knew exactly what he had to do." She smiled at him, not knowing there was more to this love story. _

_Dan dropped to one knee, hands clutching Serena's. "He fell to one knee and that night he asked her if she would marry him."_

"_Dan." Serena breathed, speechless._

"_I know we're young. But I know we love each other. Serena Celia van der Woodsen, will you marry me? Its up to you to finish this story." Dan gazed up at her, brown eyes meeting green. He waited patiently for her answer._

_Tears started to fall from Serena's emerald eyes. "Yes." It came out as a whisper, her voice shaking in the silence. "Yes." She said louder, firmer. She threw her arms around him and tackled him into the snow. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" She kissed him over and over again, tears spilling onto his face. _

_They heard a bell start to chime, it was midnight. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart." Dan whispered, kissing her deeply, not caring whether or not he froze to death in the snow._

"What'd you remember?" Dan asked, excitement taking over his voice.

She didn't reply, she merely stood up and kissed him, heart bursting with love. She slid her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go. However they did require air, so he broke off the kiss gasping. "I remember your proposal." She murmured, running her finger down the bridge of his nose and tracing his lips.

He smiled, leaning in to kiss her again. "It was so romantic." She whispered softly, her breath tickling his face.

He slid his hands around her waist, loving the feeling of nothing but the thin layer of satin separating their skin. "Our story's not over yet. And we're going to be late to dinner if you kiss me like that again." He laughed and kissed her forehead before pulling away swiftly and walking into the shower.

_--_

In fifteen minutes, Dan was showered, shaved and dressed in a pair of boxer-black briefs "Darling, you wouldn't happen to know where I put my dress pants, do you?"

"I think they're on the chair, but I'm not sure." Serena's uncertain voice came from the closet this time. "Can you help me, Dan?"

"Sure." He stepped into the closet, and found her dressed in an exquisite floor-length midnight blue gown. The neckline scooped just to reveal a hint of cleavage, and the back plunged low, exposing her flawless skin up to just above her hips. Something so simple, despite its worth, would only look plain on any other woman her age; but on Serena, it looked stunning.

Her blonde locks were swept to the side and twisted into an elegant ponytail that rested on her shoulder, her hair soft and twirled into one loose, but tidy curl. There remained a few strands falling naturally at the front, which altogether showed her youth, but sophistication at the same time.

He stopped in his tracks as she stood with her back to him and the mirror, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to work the zip that traveled up and ended at her waist where the delicate satin material ended.

"I can't seem to get this zipper...zipped. Could you help? Please?" She gave him a pleading look.

He smiled and walked over, taking the zipper. "No problem." He zipped it up slowly, his fingers brushing lightly against her bare skin. "You look amazing." He whispered, snaking his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her collarbone.

"You do too." She spun around in his arms to face him. "But you should probably get some clothes on, mister."

"You think? I'm not so sure, I mean these are your favorite Polo Ralph Laurens I'm wearing... in case you hadn't noticed." She teasingly slid her hands down his back to rub the dark material, causing him to tense his stomach muscles. "True" she cooed.

Her fingers traced the band around the top to his stomach where she played a little with the hair under his bellybutton. "But I'd rather be the only person who sees you in these tonight."

Quivering under her touch, he responded playfully, "Just tonight? So on other nights I can go do whatev-"

"Shut up." She giggled, hanging her arms from around his neck and stared into his eyes.

"Okay," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Pulling her into him, he deepened the kiss at the feel of her manicured hands running aimlessly all over his near-naked body. He ran his hands up and down her sides, and then held firmly to her back. Her skin was so well looked after and soft, he wasn't even sure he could tell where her exposed flesh ended and the silky satin begun. He pulled out of the kiss and pressed his nose against hers, looking down to her chest which was rising and falling heavily.

"We're going to be late." She murmured, hands splayed across his abdominal muscles.

He rolled his eyes as he kissed her once again. "Okay. I'll stop." He whispered, the corners of his mouth curving upwards into a smile. "You know, I really envy that dress of yours. Its hugging you in all...the...right..places." He punctuated each word with a kiss.

"Put some clothes on or I'm afraid I won't be able to stop you" she whispered seductively into his ear, biting playfully on it.

"Dressing. Now." He pulled out of the embrace abruptly as it was all getting too much to handle this early in the night. Reaching up he grabbed a tuxedo shirt from its place on the hanger.

Serena gave him one last longing look before turning away, holding her dress up with her hands and revealing her bare feet.

She put the last toy into the box in the corner, and placed Cedric in his usual spot propped up against the pillows on the bed. Folding a small pair of corduroy pants that were lying on the chair against the window, she heard him approaching down the hall.

Serena turned to face the door and saw a sight that instantly sent her into a daze.

_She laughed loudly at something he said, her voice echoing in the vast empty lobby. She turned around abruptly, arms sliding around his neck to kiss him._

_Clutching her shoes in one hand, Serena leaned in and pressed her lips to his, smiling. He broke the kiss shortly and kissed her again. _

_Leaning down, he hoisted her legs up, carrying her like a groom to his bride. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tightly and looking up to see Lily smiling at them. _

_Getting what seemed like a nod of approval and a brighter smile, Serena turned her attention back to Dan, caressing the back of his head softly._

_He grinned up at her, starting to twirl her around, eyes completely focused on her. Slowly he made his way to the door, eyes never leaving hers as her hand pushed the door open._

"Are you ready my darling?" he held out the silver strappy shoes in his hand for her.

She bit her lip, trying to take in the picture of him standing so handsomely in front of her. The black tuxedo was a perfect fit, with a satin line down the side of the pants. His vest and bowtie of midnight blue matched her dress immaculately.

Nodding, she watched him walk over and guide her to sit on Caden's bed. He put his free arm around her bare back and kissed her lightly on her neck. "Come here", he leaned over and picked up her leg, pulling the dress up over her knees.

She watched adoringly as he took her foot, letting out a childish giggle when it tickled at first. He smiled, slipping her bronzed foot into the shoe, and carefully did up the small buckle on the side. After doing the same to Serena's left foot, he rubbed lightly along her calf and leaned over to kiss her ankle. Pulling her up off the bed and into his arms, they kissed wantingly in their son's bedroom.

Dan held her by the waist and pulled out of the passionate kiss to admire her. "You, my precious wife…look… absolutely incredible." His eyes studied her figure, but landed on her emerald orbs at the last two words.

Placing his hands on either side of her head delicately so as not to mess her perfect hairdo, he told her quietly "You take my breath away."

"I love you" was her response just before his lips grasped hers.

"And you, my gorgeous husband, are irresistible" she whispered before continuing the passionate kiss. Their tongues continued to caress each other as the feeling of each others touch was electrifying.

He kissed a trail to her collarbone from her mouth, placing lingering kisses on her soft perfumed skin. Her scent drove him wild. Serena let out an involuntary moan when his lips suckled on the tender skin behind her ear.

"We should go" Dan whispered.

"Why?" Serena choked, her mouth agape from the feeling of his mouth on her.

"Because you look far too beautiful. I don't want to crinkle your dress and ruin your hair, and more importantly, we're already twenty minutes late to dinner hosted by your Grandmother."

"Okay" she responded reluctantly taking his head in her hands and kissing his upper lip in between hers. "But only if you promise we'll continue this later."

Those words, inherently sexual and suggestive, had a deeper meaning for Dan and Serena. Since Serena had begun remembering, they had kissed endless amounts of times and their bodies had touched in many ways. But they hadn't yet made love. Dan had been waiting, albeit impatiently, for her to be ready, and they both rejoiced that she finally was.

"I promise."

--

"Serena my darling it's stunning! Karl would kill to see you in this, it's just… " Serena blushed at the compliment as CeCe turned to address Dan.

"Dan, doesn't she just look-"

"Amazing, yes." Dan finished her sentence with an answer and turned to kiss Serena's temple, his arm wrapping around her.

"And the suit fits perfectly Dan. You look like quite the couple you two."

"Thank you Celia. And perhaps we'll make up for Serena's debutante all those years ago?" Dan joked, not sure how Serena's grandmother would react, as Serena's puzzled eyes darted between the two.

CeCe smiled warmly and looked Dan in the eye as she told him "I'm sure you will. Now come on lovebirds everyone's having a glass of champagne already. Dinner will be served in twenty minutes.

Serena realized she hadn't apologized for their tardiness. "Oh I know Grandma, I'm so sorry we're late, we-"

Serena was relieved when CeCe interrupted to say that it was no problem; she wasn't sure her grandma would approve of the reasons behind their lateness.

"Dan, if you'll come upstairs I need your help with something."

Serena once again looked confused, as Dan said "Sure" and kissed Serena on the lips before walking away and up the stairs with her grandmother.

--

"You know that dress on Serena is really extravagant, its just missing one thing." CeCe pulled out a black jewelry box and handed it to Dan.

Dan opened the suede box, revealing the most incredible necklace he had ever seen. It was white gold with an array of sapphires falling all around the front of the neck, to form a V shape ending in one teardrop sapphire with an outline of small diamonds. "Wow... uh thank you."

"Oh and don't tell her its from me." CeCe winked as she left the room, leaving Dan staring at the necklace.

Dan whirled around, his suit tails flying as he watched CeCe make her way down the staircase. Chuckling to himself, he slid the box into the inside of his jacket and made his way back downstairs.

Serena saw him descending and picked up a flute of champagne for him. "Hey sweetie." She kissed him on the lips before handing him the glass. "Did you know how many people were staring at my neck when you left?" She added in an undertone.

"Your neck? Why woul- oh." Dan blushed as he spotted the red mark on her neck.

"Maybe I should have worn a necklace. Does the dress need one, does it look horrible?"

"Well it doesn't look horrible, but maybe you should have worn one, just to cover up the..yeah."

Serena blushed as she took a sip of champagne to calm her nerves. "I guess its too late for that now."

"Maybe not. Come on." Dan took her hand and led her down an empty hallway. He took her flute from her and set both champagne glasses on a nearby table.

"What are you doing?" Serena giggled as he swept her ponytail out of the way.

Pressing a kiss to the back of her neck, Dan pulled out the box, careful not to let her see it. "You'll see." His hot breath tickled her neck and gave her shivers. Carefully taking the necklace from the box, he held it the clasps as he slid it around her neck. Serena's hand reflexly reached up to touch it, wanting to know what it was. He put together the clasp, his hand reaching for hers as she traced the vintage necklace.

"Dan.."

"Do you like it?" He asked, one arm wrapped around her as he turned her around to face the mirror.

Serena gasped, watching his hand stroke the hollow of her throat. "I love it." She said breathlessly, spinning around in his arms to kiss him.

"I'm glad." Dan muttered, leaning down to kiss her neck. "You look marvelous. I-" He was cut off by a tinkling bell announcing that it was indeed time for dinner.

He handed her the glass of champagne, taking his own in the other hand. "Dinner awaits, darling. Let's not keep them waiting."

"If you say so." She followed him into the dining room, ignoring Chuck's more pronounced smirk.

"Serena, where on earth did you get that necklace?" Claudia DeVoe's voice boomed as she hurried towards Serena for a closer look.

"Oh um, Dan, my husband. He just gave it to me." Serena blushed as other ladies on the ball committee rushed up to examine her necklace.

As everyone settled back into their seats, Serena turned to whisper to Dan, "That's Cruella."

"Oh yeah. I remember. You and Blair had a nickname for her." He chuckled as he took a sip of his champagne. "Because she was so uh...mean right?"

"Exactly." Serena said, reaching for own flute. Servers arrived and placed plates of various expensive Italian foods around the table.

"I ordered for you earlier, when you were upstairs. I hope its okay." Serena said, picking up her fork.

"Sure, its looks great." Dan said, spearing a piece of ravioli.

Across from the two of them were Nate, Blair and Chuck. Nate was picking at his food miserably, his crutches set right beside him.

"Natie, how are you going to dance with crutches?"

"I uh.." Nate shot Dan a sheepish look. "I was kinda hoping that Dan would sit with me or something."

Dan rubbed Serena's leg under the table and said, "Of course man. I'm not a huge dancer anyway."

--

The five stood outside the entrance of the ballroom, attracting stares from everyone. Nate shot everyone a glance and said, "I'm gonna go find a table so we can sit down."

"We'll go with you." Chuck and Blair chorused, following Nate as he searched for a table.

Serena turned to Dan, biting her lip. "You're not really going to sit with Nate all night, are you? I mean..I was hoping we could dance."

"Of course not. I'll be with you most of the time." Dan promised, kissing her before leading her into the ballroom.

They walked over to where Nate was already sitting, crutches propped up against a chair. "Hey man. Chuck and Blair are dancing, and I know you want to dance with Serena, so go."

"Thanks Nate." Dan grinned as Serena dragged him to the dance floor.

"You're a good friend to Nate."

"Thanks." Dan replied, putting his hands on Serena's hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "He's different than I first thought he was."

"How so?"

"I thought he would an average Upper East Sider. Rich boy turned stoner, falls in love with his girlfriends best friend, doesn't care about anything except their trust funds."

"But he proved you wrong, didn't he?"

"Yeah. He's a lot deeper than that. He's a good person. He's sort of like you."

"Really?"

"You proved me wrong too." Dan whispered. "I thought I knew you halfway through our relationship, so I judged wrongly. And I made a big mistake. Luckily, we were able to fix it after many many times."

"If I don't remember that part, would you tell me?" She asked tentatively, casting her gaze downward so she could watch the sway of his suit tails.

"Tell you what?"

"The mistake you made."

He was silent for a moment, pondering. "I guess...yeah. If you really wanted to know. But not tonight okay?"

"Okay." She smiled at him, leaning her head against his chest. "So how long were you planning on dancing with me until you go sit with Nate?"

"A while. Until Mr Cripple starts making a fuss about getting lonely." Dan joked, holding onto Serena tighter. "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is." The two lapsed into a comfortable silence as the band finished their song.

"Okay, I'm gonna go sit with Nate now okay?" Dan said, kissing the top of Serena's head.

"I wanted to dance some more." Serena admitted, in a mock whining voice.

"Nate won't be my friend anymore if I continue to dance with you. You don't want to ruin our friendship, do you?" Dan teased, kissing her again for good measure.

"Can I just say something before you go?"

"Go ahead. And you know, you could just sit with us."

"When we were kissing earlier...when you were touching me, I didn't- I didn't want you to stop. And I really hope we don't stop tonight, like you promised."

The words were spoken quietly with no intention to seduce him, but they hit Dan like a speeding semi-truck. He blushed before feeling all the blood rush down to a certain area. "You...you are one...you're so sexy I don't even know what you are."

Serena laughed, feeling exhilarated. "Thank you. Now go sit with Nate before he kills you with that glare of his. I'll just find someone to dance with."

"What? You're gonna dance with someone else? You didn't mention that earlier."

"Jealous?"

"Possibly." Dan kissed her on the lips, his lips aggressive at first but turning soft after a bit. "You're _my _wife."

"Yes I know, Mr Possessive." She teased, pushing him towards Nate. "Now go."

"I'm watching you Humphrey." Dan laughed playfully, walking backwards slowly.

"Right back at you, _Humphrey_." She blew a kiss in his direction before heading off to find a new dance partner.

Dan whirled around, heading towards Nate who was drumming his fingers absently on the table.

"Hey man, how's your leg?"

"Hurts like a bastard."

"Ah. Need a drink?"

Nate nodded as he downed the last of his beer. Dan got up and walked to the bar, flashing his drivers license at the bartender. "A coke and a uh whatever he had." He pointed at Nate and the bartender nodded, pulling out two bottles.

Dan took them and walked over to Nate, handing him the green one. "Thanks man."

"No problem." Dan took a long sip from his bottle before looking over at Nate. "Have you seen Serena on the dance floor?"

"Yeah, she's like dancing with this guy we went to school with. Jared something."

Dan's stomach clenched. A guy they went to school with named Jared. It could only be one person. Jared Thompson. The guy was worse than Chuck was and that was saying something.

--

"So Jared..what have you been up to since you graduated?" Serena asked, making an effort at small talk while they twirled around aimlessly into a less populated part of the room.

"I went to Brown, majored in Law. And that's about it." He smiled at her. "What about you?"

"I got married and had a little boy."

"Oh yeah, Dan _Humphrey_, right?" Jared could barely keep the disgust out of his voice as Serena nodded. "You really jumped into marriage then."

"Well I love him. So yeah."

"What if he isn't the right person for you?"

"Wha-" Serena was interrupted by Jared leaning down and pressing his lips to hers, his hand pulling him closer so she couldn't pull away and his other hand reaching down towards her butt.

The first thing that appeared in her mind was _No. _It just didn't feel right. She broke her arms free and pushed him away. "What the hell was that?!"

Jared smirked and before he could say anything, he was on the floor, clutching his jaw while an angry Dan stood over him.

"Dan!" Serena put a hand on his arm, watching him visibly relax. "You...I thought you were sitting with Nate."

"I was. Before that bastard kissed you." He muttered, watching CeCe come over.

"Daniel, what on earth just happened?"

"He took advantage of Serena and kissed her." Dan glowered with rage at his old classmate.

"Gentlemen, take him away." CeCe ordered the bodyguards, placing a hand on Serena's arm, patting it.

"Serena, are you okay?" Dan turned to Serena, concern and worry in his voice and face. "He didn't-"

"No." She shook her head, stepping into his arms. "He just kissed me."

"But...wh- why would he kiss you? Were you _flirting_ with him, Serena?"

"Flirting? What, no! we just went to school together I thought we could catch up and I'm telling him I'm married, have a son, and next thing he's got his tongue down my throat Dan. I would never flirt with anyone you know that, and surely telling someone about my husband and kid can't be classified as flirting?"

"No no no of course it can't. I'm sorry, I understand." He looked into her sad green eyes and pulled her into his arms, placing a comforting kiss above her ear.

"I love you" he whispered to her, as she turned her head to place a soft kiss on his neck. He pulled out of the embrace slightly, taking her head in his hands, and said to her, looking up and down her stunning appearance. "And I understand why he did it." He said to her quietly, a small smirk creeping across his face.

"James, Jason..."

"Jared"

"Yeah him, I understand him. Who wouldn't want to just lean in and kiss you? You look..."

"Dan" she laughed a little. "I seriously think we've done enough compliments tonight don't you?" Her hand ticked the back of his neck and her fingers played with his hair.

"Well honestly, no words could describe how ravishing you look tonight baby so-"

"Well maybe that's enough words?"

She bit her lip before leaning in to receive his passionate kiss, their mouths fighting for control as their tongues danced around each other.

Dan wrapped his arms behind her firmly and pulled her close to him so he could feel every bit of her perfection up against him. She responded by taking the back oh his neck in her hand trying to deepen the kiss as much as possible.

Their noses pressed against each others' sides as they maximized their use for air – not wanting to break apart. Dan's hands explored her bare back and then the silk that covered her lower body as Serena pulled out of the kiss and leaned so that she was breathing hot air into Dan's ear.

"Looks like I do look okay tonight." She whispered.

"What do you mean, another guy's flirting with you now, what someone's standing staring at you?" Dan looked around to spot his next victim.

Serena took his chin in her hand and pulled him back to kiss him firmly on the lips.

"No no, well I meant to say feels like I look okay tonight" she said seductively, pushing herself against him.

Dan smirked into the kiss and then spoke into her lips, "Well maybe it's time to get out of here then." She moaned a little as she continued to ravish his lips roughly.

--

The front door of their town house slammed open as Dan pushed Serena against it, his hands running wild over her satin dress. He slid his hands behind her thighs, picking her up as she adjusted herself on him and returned to kissing him.

They were both moaning involuntarily as they struggled to keep their lips intact when Dan walked hurriedly across the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

He placed her down on top of the quilt on their bed, and watched her lie there, chest heaving and staring into his eyes as he ripped his coat off and threw it on a chair in the corner.

She stood up as calmly as she could and walked over to him, her hands circling his waist and holding him tight, as she mumbled into his ear. "Make love to me, Dan"

He pulled her face in front of him and cupped both her ears as he compressed his lips upon hers, his tongue running along the inside of her lower lip.

Their breaths heavy, he asked for reassurance. "Are you sure, Serena? I…" he kissed her again, "I don't want to do this if you're not ready."

She smiled at his understanding and kissed him back, before telling him "I've been yours since junior year, Dan, I realize that now. And I've loved you since then, except for a brief period where my mind took over my heart for a while, and now I love you more than you could ever imagine. You're my husband, the father to my child, and that's the way it's meant to be. Make love to me, Dan, make me remember what it feels like to have you inside of me."

With that, his arms squeezed tighter around her as he tried to pour every feeling he had for her right now into her lips.

She lead his hand to the zip at the bottom of her back and pulled his bowtie off, before quickly working at his shirt buttons.

When she felt the dress loosen at her hips, and his shirt was unbuttoned but still tucked in, she turned him around so his back was to the bed, wanting to take charge.

Thinking twice, she pulled him in and placed a strong kiss on his half-open plump lips, before throwing him back onto the mattress.

Dan tried to control his breathing as she edged over to the bed and kneeled up on the edge of it.

She ripped off his expensive shoes and threw them behind her, leaning down and lifting his pant legs up a little to place kisses on his calves as she slowly removed his socks, tossing them aside also.

He grabbed a pillow and set it behind his neck so he could watch her play at his feet. She slid her hands under his trousers and rubbed his legs firmly up and down, satisfied with the parted lips she saw when she stared up at his face to catch his reaction.

She crawled slowly up the bed until she was sitting on his hips, biting her lip seductively and running her hands down his middle from his chest, tickling the bare skin he had exposed by fully opening and untucking his shirt.

She gradually moved her hands to where her dress had pooled around her legs, the silk was tickling his skin, and he closed his eyes at the thought of what she was about to do next.

Sure enough, when he opened them just seconds later, she was slipping the dress off and over her head, each centimeter further revealing a little more of her flawless skin.

Her breasts, which had been held in place by the dress alone, fell free in front of his eyes as an uncontrollable sigh escaped his mouth.

Once the dress was discarded to the side and she was sitting just in her panties on top of him, Serena expertly freed her hair from the side arrangement and shook her head to loosen it until blonde locks were sprawled over her shoulders.

He placed his clammy hands on her thighs and squeezed them firmly before leaning up a little so he could put his hands on her lower back and pull her down on top of him.

She lowered herself so her head was hovering above his, her breasts tickling his chest.

"You're so beautiful" he whispered to her, at which she smiled shyly and leaned further to lightly kiss his lips.

Closing his eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling of her warm body on top of his, Dan slowly worked at opening her mouth further until he was able to suck lightly on her tongue.

Then it became rougher as their bodies became more desperate for each other, and soon her arms had given way so she was simply lying flat on top of him, their legs entwined and her hands holding tight to the side of his face, not letting their lips let go.

"Baby, my pants" he choked out amidst kisses.

"Oh getting demanding are we?"

"Shut up just take my pants off" She giggled at the smile he couldn't avoid as he said it, and sat back up, her hands heading straight for his belt.

As she quickly unzipped the zipper and ripped his pants off, staring at what was left covered, he removed his arms from his open shirt so they both remained in only their underwear.

With that, he sat up with her still on top of him, and they remained sitting, exploring each others bare skin and planting kisses all over each others faces, necks and shoulders.

Her body's need for his became evident in the way she began driving her hips up and down against him.

The feeling of her warmth on him aroused him further and made the restriction of her favorite navy boxer-briefs she had bought him even more painful.

She could hear his need as he started moaning at the feel of her, his kiss becoming more rapid and forceful as his hands took hold of her hips and pulled her down against him.

"I need you" she managed to get out, her pelvis still moving against his.

"Now" she made clear, pulling her face away from his and waiting for him to make the next move.  
He rolled them out of their sitting position so he was lying on top of her, and kissed her neck hungrily as he placed his hands on her hips rubbing her hipbones gently with this thumbs.

He pushed himself against her and could feel she was ready for him.

Realizing that involuntary moan had come out louder than she expected, Serena panted "Dan stop it, really, please."

He removed his head from her neck and smiled at her before running his hands down her body from her shoulders, stopping to finger her breasts on the way.

When he reached his destination he placed a gentle kiss at the spot where the fabric met her stomach, and heard her whimper at the contact.

She gripped onto the sheets beneath her as he kissed a line along the top of her panties, his hands tickling her inner thighs.

"Dan!" she found herself screaming. "Were you always such a tease?"

"I'm sorry baby," he pressed a long, lingering kiss to her lower stomach "I just want to savour every moment of our first time back together, is that so bad?"

"It is when I'm so fucking close the moment could pass any second now!"

With that, her panties were off in a flash and he was kissing her in places he hadn't kissed in months.

The feeling of his lips and tongue on her were sending unprecedented sensations through her body. As much as she wanted to push his head further into her, she was ready for more than that.

He raised his head when her hips bucked against him and looked to her eyes to see that longing look he had dreamed of for years.

He nodded lightly and moved himself up so he was hovering above her, kissing her lips tenderly so she could taste her own sweet flavor.

With one hand on his underwear and the other on his neck, she rolled him over and immediately ripped his boxer-briefs off to expose the part of him she needed inside her.

Sitting on his thighs she teased him with her hands, and then her mouth as she used one hand to play with the hairs under his bellybutton.

"Come here you," he strangled out of his mouth, and reached out for her hands as she sat back up on him, her warmth and moisture intoxicating him.

She linked her fingers in his and placed a long, passionate kiss on his lips.

"I love you" she reassured him.

Before even replying, Dan tumbled her over onto her back so he was once again on top of her.

"I love you too sweetheart" he whispered before turning his attention to their bodies which were aching to be worshiped by one another.

He leaned down and kissed her in the valley of her breasts as he took hold of her hips and probed at her entrance. With that, she moaned and dug her fingernails into his back asking for more.

He entered her slowly and carefully, filling her so her eyes shut and mouth whimpered.

Soon the passion took over and he was plunging in and out of her, his lips leaving wet kisses all over her neck and shoulders.

Her hips rose up to meet his as their pelvises worked in unison to bring them the feeling of ecstasy they had both been longing for.

She moaned his name over and over as he spread her legs further to have her engulf him deeper.

"Let me…" she choked out, not knowing that Dan knew exactly what she was going to ask. He was the one who remembered how it always went, how they made love, and how they drove each other to their peaks.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled onto his back pulling her over onto him, trying not to disturb the rhythm he had set.

She adjusted herself on top of him and it wasn't long before he was groaning and gripping her hips, pulling her down onto him as hard as he could.

Their highs came together, accompanied by moans and pants, as neither had felt so satisfied, pleasured or loved before. Their bodies were hot and glistening and beads of sweat had formed along each of their hairlines.

She collapsed on top of him, speechless from the feelings of fireworks that had been emanating throughout her body. He used the only ounce of energy left in him to kiss her collarbone and draw a tiny circle with thumb on her naked waist.

"Dan" she whispered later, after regaining some of her strength, "that was…"

Her search for the right word was interrupted by his deep, loving voice. "Perfect."

"I was going to say incredible" She lifted her head off his chest and looked him in the eyes.

"That too. You are amazing Serena Humphrey, and I love you." He lifted his head a little to request a kiss which she gladly granted.

"I love you too Dan. So much." A smile crept across her face, "and I can't believe we finally got to, you know…"

He smiled at her, his eyes widening "tell me about it." His arms wrapped around her back as she leaned up, her full breasts still leaning on his chest.

"I can do better," she bit her lip in seduction.

"I can show you how we did it?" She earned a giggle and another kiss and it wasn't long before he was once again laying above her, placing his lips on her neck and working to please her.

**Review!!! (cough)Laura(cough) lol**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, I'm back with a new chapter. One thing I'd like to say is: I love Australia so don't be offended by the kangaroo tail thing, its only to show how much Caden loves kangaroos lol.**

Serena's eyes opened and she looked up to see a completely naked Dan, staring at her intensely, fingers rubbing his temples.

"Morning." She leaned forward to kiss him only to find him backing away from her, shaking his head.

"I can't..this was wrong. I...this isn't right. We shouldn't have _done this." _His voice cracked as he slid off the bed, quickly putting a robe on.

"Dan...what are you talking about?" Her green eyes were sad and confused. "I thought...I thought we did this because we love each other."

"I know. I know." He started pacing around, running his hands through his messy brown hair. "But you-you don't remember. This isn't right."

"Dan, I _will_ remember. Why can't you just believe that?" By now, she had stood up, the sheet wrapped around her but not hiding any of her features.

"Because it hasn't happened!" He threw his hands up, frustrated. He looked down, his toe digging into the carpet. "I thought...I hoped that you would have remembered by the time we made love." He spoke softly, as he looked up, his brown eyes searching hers for any sign of recognition.

"Why don't you have any faith, Dan!?" She grasped his shoulders, dropping the sheet. She kissed him, softly, gently and passionately. "Can you not feel how much I love you?" She took his hand and placed it above her heart. "Can you not feel my heart when its beating for you? Everything I do, Dan. Every kiss. Every touch. Every breath. Its all for you."

He hung his head, eyes downcast. "I know." His voice cracked again, making him feel as if he were seventeen and having a fight with Serena again. "I feel all of that, but it just doesn't seem right. And I'm sorry."

Serena's body trembled as enormous tears fell from her eyes. "No, Serena. Don't cry, please don't cry." He attempted to pull her bare body close, but she pulled away, head shaking from side to side.

Her chest heaved up and down and sobs wracked her lithe form. "Get out." She ordered, her voice a whisper. "Get out."

"What?" He asked, confused by her statement. "Serena, I...no why are you doing this? I don't understand."

"Yes you do. Two words. Get out." Her voice barely escaped shaking as she watched him pull on his clothes.

He walked towards, now dressed in last night's party attire. "Please don't do this." He ran his arms up and down her arms. "We'll make it work." He offered weakly even though he knew there was no way of changing her mind.

She backed away from him, picking up the robe he had worn and putting it on. She was immediately engulfed in his scent. "I can't do that with the way you're thinking." Tears coursed down her pink cheeks, falling down onto the robe. "Please, leave."

Leaning down, Dan kissed her forehead, cheek, and then her lips. She remained unmoving as he kissed her, but she could do nothing about the blood coursing through the veins in her cheeks, making her blush. She could also do nothing about her increased heart rate, which she was sure he could feel. "_This_ isn't over, I promise." He kissed her forehead another time before walking out of the room.

The moment he left the room and shut the door, Serena fell to the ground. Hugging her knees to her chest, she breathed in his smell. She hadn't wanted to do any of that, she honestly loved him. But being in love and believing that she was going to remember required two people. There was no way she could do it by herself.

--

Chuck walked towards the door, irritated at being woke up so early. He opened it to find none other than Dan Humphrey, eyes red and still in party attire.

"Humphrey...you look like hell." He commented, letting Dan in.

"Serena kicked me out." Dan replied sullenly.

"And I thought you were just here to pick up Caden after a night of sex." Chuck padded over to the kitchen and poured Dan a mug of coffee. "Here, you look like you need it."

Dan mumbled a quiet "Thanks." He set the mug down on the shiny black counter top. "Can I-?"

"Stay with Blair and I?" Chuck finished, pouring himself a cup of the hot bitter liquid. "Sure. But I don't want to hear any moaning about Serena...unless of course you're planning how to get her back. You want to tell me what happened?"

"Thanks...Chuck. I-we, you know, last night." Dan flushed a bright red. He had never imagined he'd be talking about this to Chuck Bass. "And we woke up. And she doesn't remember me."

"Wait, let me guess. Then you got on your moral high horse and talked about how it wasn't right that you slept with her before you remembered."

Dan's eyebrows rose. "Are you psychic or something?"

Chuck smirked. "Nope. Just smarter than you think I am."

The sound of bare feet running through the penthouse stopped their conversation. "Daddy!!" Caden cried, as he launched himself into Dan's arms. "Uncle Chuck said that you were supposed to be with momma all day!"

Dan shot Chuck a glare accompanied with a small smile. "Well mommy and I had a fight. So I'm not going to be home for a little bit, okay?"

Caden's adorable face grew confused. "But daddy, I thought momma and you made up and were all mushy again."

"We did, but we got into a fight, okay?" Dan hugged Caden closer. "I'm really sorry buddy. I know how excited you were for us to be a family again."

"I want to stay with you." Caden murmured, clutching his daddy closer. "I don't want to stay with momma."

Dan kissed the top of Caden's head. "No, don't say that. Your mommy is the best mommy there is, okay? She's really something, son. You don't even know. She makes everything better for daddy just like she does for you. She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And just because we got into a fight does not mean she doesn't love you with all her heart. Because she does."

"What about you, daddy? Does she love you?" Caden pulled back slightly to look Dan in the eyes. Green meeting Brown.

"I think so." Dan whispered, unable to look his son in the eyes. "I hope so. But until mommy and I make up, I'm staying here and you're going home."

"Okay." Caden agreed silently. "I really hope you and mommy stop fighting. Momma looked really happy when you kissed her and I don't want that to go away."

"Me neither." Caden and Dan remained in that embrace for a few seconds more before Dan let Caden go.

"Why don't you go get dressed and Uncle Chuck will make you breakfast." Chuck shot a glare, while snapping his phone shut. "I mean..I'll make you breakfast."

"Okay daddy!" Caden ran up the staircase and disappeared from sight.

"You are disgustingly _mushy_ with him." Chuck drawled as he watched Dan pull out a skillet and set it on the stove.

"He's my son. I have to be." Dan cracked an egg in the now sizzling skillet.

Chuck only shook his head and walked upstairs to change.

--

It had been only an hour since Dan had left. Only a hour ago, she was on cloud nine. She had dressed, eaten and was now sitting in the kitchen, playing with her rings. They were the constant in all of this. From the moment she got in that accident to now, she hadn't taken them off. At least not willingly. Sighing, she looked around the house, only to realize two things. She missed Dan. And that she was completely, hopelessly in love with him and would never stop.

Her phone buzzed and she slid it open to see the text. _You really need to see this.-C_. Wondering if it was a disgusting porno video, she hit play and what she saw changed everything.

She watched as a picture of Dan came into view, looking like he had been crying, holding Caden. She watched silently, tears streaming down her face. She listened as Dan talked about her to Caden, telling him that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him and her heart felt like it was going to explode by the way it seemed to be shooting out of her chest.

She slid the phone shut, and closed her eyes. "I do." She repeated the words from the night of Caden's birthday, in a low whisper. "I do love you." But it was too late, she had ordered Dan to get out, and she had no idea where to move on from here.

Hearing a knock at the door, she stood up from the table and wiped the tears that had been falling slowly. She opened it to find Blair and Caden. "Hey, B." She muttered, letting the two in.

Blair allowed herself to let Serena close the door before enveloping her into a huge hug. "Dan told me what happened and Chuck told me he sent you a video. I'm so sorry, S."

"I made him leave Blair. I made my husband leave. Right after we made love for the first time in months. Right after I told him I loved him and knew I always had and always would. What was I thinking, B? Talk about mixed messages." Serena choked out, tears re-emerging, and suddenly she was grateful that Caden had a bunch of new toys that could distract him while she cried it all out.

"Serena, its all going to be okay. Trust me. Dan...he looked horrible when he was telling me what he said to you. He actually had me come over to see if you two still had a chance." The words were spoken softly, but they inflicted a great pain upon Serena.

"I love him, B. I love him so much that it hurts. I-I see what my not remembering has done to him and I can't stand that. But I...I just don't see how its going to work if he doesn't believe in me." Serena's tears had now reduced to quiet hiccups, wracking her body like the sobs earlier that morning.

"Cabbag-Dan is the impossibly good guy. I bet he just felt bad because he thinks you're this delicate angel and sleeping with you before you remembered didn't go with his conscience." By now Blair had led Serena to the champagne colored couch, her arm wrapped comfortingly around her best friend.

"Thank you, Blair. I just..thank you." Serena mumbled, her blonde head downcast. "Can you tell Dan that..that I love him and I miss him?" Her voice had grown quiet, and there was a trace of nervousness in it. An excited nervousness.

"You're kicking me out already?" Blair joked, standing up and giving Serena another hug. "I'll tell him, I promise."

At that, Serena felt the tiny arms she had got to know so well over the past few weeks wrap around her shaking leg. She looked down to see her picture-perfect son looking up at her, his lips in a frown and hurt in his eyes. Trying to feign a smile, she leaned over and picked Caden up, holding him so tight and placing a meaningful kiss on his temple.

"Momma...is daddy ever coming home?" He asked, stopping Blair in her tracks.

"I don't know sweetie." Serena replied, feeling the tears spring up yet again. Calming herself, she waved goodbye to Blair who kept casting nervous glances behind her shoulder.

"Daddy really misses you, mommy. He looked so sad this morning." Caden looked at Serena, his lips still in a frown.

"Darling, daddy's just having a time out, okay? He'll be back before you know it. Now let's go watch a movie."

Caden nodded in agreement as Serena carried him over to the television. "Why don't you find a nice movie that we can watch?"

He obediently nodded, his blonde head ducked down, looking for a movie. "Found one!" He held it out proudly and watched as she put the disc into the DVD player.

They settled back onto the couch and sat in silence as the DVD player whirred. "Momma, can we go see the Ice Capades? Auntie Blair was talking about them in the car. She says daddy likes them."

"_And I think he'd basically go anywhere with you. Except maybe the Ice Capades, cause that really freaked him out when he was five."_

A voice flashed in her head as Caden looked up at her expectantly. "We'll ask daddy next time we see him okay?"

"_Hey, um, I hear the Ice Capades are in town." Serena smiled at him, buzzed from the kiss they just shared._

"_Oh. If you're there, then so am I." He smiled before kissing her again._

"Is something wrong, momma?" Caden asked, noticing her being lost in space.

"No, of course not. I just think I remember something. Something about daddy."

Caden's face lit up as he hurriedly pressed 'Pause' on the remote control. "You have to tell daddy, momma! You have to!!"

Serena shook her head. "No, no no. Its okay, sweetie."

"Momma, before, when you weren't really my momma as much as you are now, daddy and I talked and he told me how much he wanted you to remember and how he couldn't wait for you to remember so we can be a family again. He said that he'd die if you didn't remember and I don't want daddy to die, so we have to tell him!!!"

Serena could help but let her heart melt at that statement. "Okay, okay." She said, half laughing, half crying. "Okay baby, lets go. But momma's gotta have a shower first okay? She looks like a mess."

"You look fine, momma." Caden replied, smiling earnestly at her.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Stay here and watch the movie okay? I'll be right back."

As she turned the hot water on, steaming the bathroom mirror, she couldn't help but relax and give into another well awaited memory.

_A loud baby's cry erupted in the otherwise silent air._

"_Dan" Serena moaned, head buried in her pillow, trying to get at least a few hours of sleep. "Baby."_

"_Huh?" Dan blinked his brown eyes open. "Wha? Your turn."_

"_Go or no sex." Serena yawned._

"_Serena." Dan groaned back, trying to poke her up. "Caden wants his mommy."_

"_Daan." Serena slapped a hand on his bare chest. "I'm serious about the no sex thing this time."_

"_Hmph." Dan grunted as he pushed himself out of bed, heading for Caden's room. "Next time he cries, I'll go with no sex."_

"_Love you too sweetheart!" Serena called sleepily, smiling as she entangled herself in the sheets breathing in his smell. _

--

Serena walked back into the living room, freshly showered and dressed. "Caden?"

She walked to the living room where the movie was still playing, but no little boy in sight. Serena started to panic and looked outside, praying that he was there.

"Momma!!" She turned abruptly at the voice and saw Caden tugging Dan, who was still dressed in ball attire, along. "Look I told you! Daddy's happy!!"

Dan let go of Caden's hand and stops in front of Serena. "Hey."

"Hi." Her voice came out timid and quiet.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. Heaps."

"Caden told me t-that you remembered more. He said it was something about the Ice Capades. Hope sparkled in his eyes as he searched her face, looking for any sign of remembrance.

"Yeah. You said that if I was there, so were you. And then I-I remembered something else. It was a night that Caden woke up crying and we were arguing and you were just so sweet and I'm rambling."

A smile made its way across his face and he lifted her up, kissing her all over her face and neck. "I'm sorry, I should have believed in you." He muttered, kissing her again. "I'm so proud of you. I love you."

Her heart swelled at those three words as he put her down. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, hands grabbing fistfuls of his hair. "I love you too." She gasped, hugging him tightly.

"Daddy! You got momma to stop crying!" Caden's voice peeped up as Dan pulled back from Serena to look at her face.

"I sure did." Dan muttered, wiping the remaining tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "You shouldn't have been crying over me."

"But you have to stop kissing her or else you'll make another baby!" Caden had somehow appeared between the two, pushing them apart.

"Okay, okay. We'll stop kissing." Dan laughed as he hoisted Caden up on his shoulders. "Let's go watch that video you wanted mommy to see.

--

"Momma...can I have a little sister for Christmas?" Caden asked, digging his spoon into the quart of ice cream that Serena held between her legs.

Serena blushed and looked at Dan, who was putting the disc that Caden had wanted to watch in and had not heard. "Well, um. You'll have to ask daddy, sweetie."

"What about daddy?" Dan asked, coming back and sitting down on Serena's other side.

"Daddy! Can I have a baby sister for Christmas? Please?" Caden begged, his puppy dog eyes slowly drawing Dan in. "Please!?"

"Um, mommy and I will think about it, okay? But for now, lets just watch the video." Dan raised an eyebrow at Serena and mouthed 'Ask daddy?'

She smiled innocently, holding a spoon laden with chocolate ice cream to his lips. He rolled his eyes, swallowing the ice cream. A sound flickered from the TV and he turned his attention over to it. Serena followed his gaze, snuggling into his side as he put his arm around her shoulders. She looked over at Caden briefly, watching the rapt attention he was giving to the film. Was this going to be a Disney movie?

She watched as a sketchy image of Caden entered her view along with herself.

"_Dan! What are you doing?!" Serena giggled as the camera panned up her body._

"_Filming you and Caden?" Came a playfully confused reply from behind the camera._

"_I look horrible right now." Serena protested feebly. _

"_Fine." Dan laughed, turning the camera to Caden. "Say hi, buddy!"_

_A little boy about 4 years old with blonde hair stood up and waved at the camera. "Hi daddy. Whatcha filming?"_

Serena pulled Caden into her side, hair playing with his blonde hair. Dan noticed the shift in her weight and leaned over to kiss Caden on the top of his head, before touching his lips with Serena's.

"_I'm filming our Christmas, son. So we can show this to grandpa because he's away this year, remember?"_

"_He's in, uh, the place with the kangaroos right? The bouncy kangaroos?" Caden asked, eyes flicking from Serena to Dan._

"_Yup, that's Australia son. He sent you a present over." Dan held up a wrapped present to the camera. "Its probably something like kangaroo tail or something equally bizarre. After all, it is Australia." Dan muttered under his breath._

"_Australians aren't bizarre." The camera flashed to Serena rolling her eyes. "I love it there."_

"_I know." Dan laughed. "Just wanted to give my dad some grief when he sees this."_

"_Momma, daddy can I open my presents?" Caden sat, legs crossed, the multi colored kangaroos on his pajamas sticking out. "Please? Uncle Chuck said that good boys get presents and I've been really really good!"_

"_Okay, but you have to open grandpa's first otherwise he'll get cranky." Serena flashed an innocent smile at the camera. She handed Caden the wrapped present that Dan had set down and watched as he ripped it open excitedly. _

"_What's this?" He held up a V shaped toy ._

"_Oh wow, Caden. That's a boomerang sweetie. And look what's on it! Kangaroos like you love, koalas, echidnas, and emus!" Serena pointed to each of the animals in turn. _

"_Wow Caden, your mother is quite the Australian animal expert." For the first time, Dan came into view and kissed Serena's cheek._

"_But what does it do, momma?" Caden asked, passing it from hand to hand. _

"_Well honey, its like a Frisbee, sort of. But when you throw it, it always comes back to you, neat huh?"_

"_Yeah! Its totally cool!"_

"Momma?" Caden sat up and looked at his parents, who quickly pressed the pause button.

"Yes sweetie, did you want to watch another video or something?" Serena reached out to pat Caden's head.

"No, I like this one. But do you know what, daddy?"

"What is it, buddy?"

Caden fidgeted with his hands as he spoke. "Momma's like a boomerang." Dan and Serena both chuckled a little bit as Serena put the ice cream on the floor in front of them and pulled Caden onto her lap. "Because when the accident made her go away, she came right back to us when she was ready!"

Serena felt tears well up in her eyes as she let Dan link and squeeze her hand in his. "That's right baby. But momma's not going anywhere anymore, okay?"

"That's good." Caden sighed, laying down in Serena's lap. "Oh and you know what, Daddy's like a boomerang too because when he went away, he didn't leave for long either. He came back when you remembered something, momma."

"Yeah, that's right son. Good boy." Serena pressed 'play' on the small remote and Caden's attention turned to the screen.

Dan turned to Serena and looked deeply into her glassy eyes.

"I love you." She mouthed.

"Don't _ever_ let me leave you again." He whispered into her ear before kissing her lightly on her cheek.

"I won't. I couldn't. You mean too much to me." She whispered back, before turning her attention to the little boy stationed on her lap and the television.

The screen had changed to a part of an earlier period. Dan was holding Caden, an unsure expression on his face.

"_Serena, what if I drop him?" Dan asked, eyes darting to Caden and the camera. Serena's airy laugh filled the surroundings, the camera zooming in on Caden._

"_You won't." She reassured him. "Now smile."_

_Dan let an obvious fake smile make its way on his face before bursting into laughter. Caden cooed happily at his daddy, his hands reaching out for Serena. "Someone wants their mommy." Dan said, look directly into the camera._

_The camera was set down and Serena appeared to take Caden from Dan. "Who's such a cute baby? You are, Caden."_

_Dan wrapped an arm around Serena's shoulders and kissed her, forgetting about the camera. "I love you."_

"_I love you too."_


	13. Chapter 13

Caden jumped down the last two remaining steps as he ran downstairs for breakfast. He watched as Dan grabbed Serena from behind and pulled her into a kiss.

"Are you making my little sister?" He asked, pulling on Dan's pant leg.

"Wha?" Dan pulled back from Serena and bent down to pick up Caden. "No silly. Daddy was just saying good morning to mommy before she leaves."

"Mommy's leaving?" Caden looked towards Serena, confused. "No, I want mommy to stay!"

"She's just going to the hospital, you knuckle head." Dan laughed, ruffling Caden's carefully gelled hair. "She has to go get a check up because she had the accident."

"Oh." Caden looked at Serena again. "You're coming back, right momma? I don't want daddy to be sad again."

"Of course I'm coming back. Now come on, lets go play basketball while daddy finishes up breakfast okay?" Serena took Caden from Dan, giving her husband a light peck on the cheek.

"Okay momma! I learned how to make a free throw while you were gone. Uncle Nate taught me how and-"

Dan chuckled to himself as Caden's rambling got cut off by the back door closing. He checked the pancakes and flipped one over. He turned his attention back to the window where Caden was showing how to make a free throw to Serena who watched and clapped when it sank into the plastic, miniature basketball hoop.

--

"I'm here for a check up with Dr. Cullen." Serena said in a firm voice, letting the nurse lead her up to the room.

"Dr Cullen will be with you shortly." She said, leaving the room and Serena to herself.

Apparently shortly came faster today and within minutes the fair haired doctor was in the room with her examining her.

"So every thing's been good, you remember bits and pieces am I correct?" He asked her, jotting down notes on his clipboard.

"Yes, Dan and I...we're...I'm falling in love with him again." Serena blushed, bowing her head.

"Good. That's good. Now if you could tell me day your last menstrual period started, we'll be done."

"I...don't know."

"Okay. Let me check your records." He flipped through the sheaf of papers on his clipboard. "Well that's peculiar."

"What?" Serena asked nervously.

"Well according to my records, your last menstrual period was exactly thirty-four days ago. Assuming you haven't had one since that day, you would have to be pregnant."

"P-pregnant?" Serena fumbled as the unfamiliar word hit her lips.

"Yes, there's a pretty good chance you are. Would you like a pregnancy test? Clarify things up?" Dr Cullen asked, watching her carefully.

"Sure." Serena said faintly.

"Okay, I'll be back in just a second."

--

Dr Carlisle Cullen stood up and held out a hand. "Well I believe congratulations is in order. I trust that you and your husband will be very happy."

Serena shook his hand numbly. "But...Dan...he.." She trailed off and cleared her throat. "Well I ever remember, doctor?"

"In essence, you should." He had his clipboard back in his hands once again. "My son, Edward, he had a similar case a few years ago. It took him a while, but we have him back and he's still married and his child is wonderful."

"How long?" Her voice shook, her whole form trembling.

"Two years." He said softly.

"I.."

He consulted his notes again. "But you are recovering at an amazing speed, remember that. Shouldn't be long before you get your memory back. Now go home and celebrate, Mrs Humphrey and I will see you next month for your next check up for the baby."

"Okay."

Serena made her way back downstairs, the gears in her mind whirring. She felt numb, but exhilarated. And how on earth was she going to tell Dan?

--

Dan was alone in the big house waiting for Serena to return from the appointment. Blair had taken Caden out Christmas shopping and now he was getting anxious.

Rubbing his eyes wearily, he sank down into the couch, letting an old memory overtake him. A trip down memory lane wouldn't hurt anybody.

_He rubbed her still hand softly, willing her to wake up. He had just finished giving her a workout, moving every muscle and every joint. If he didn't do it, her muscles would atrophy and if – when she awoke she would be permanently bedridden. _

_He always started with her feet, reminding himself of when she was pregnant with Caden and would ask him to rub her sore feet every night. _

"_Hey sweetheart. Caden found an old picture of us tonight. He asked me when you were coming back. I said that when you're ready, you'll come back to us. So please, wake up. Do it for me, do it for Caden. He needs you. I need you. Open your eyes and come back to us, please."_

_He paused, thinking that he saw a twitch. He was too choked up to do anything, but as always, reality reasserted itself, and he knew that what he had thought he had seen was an illusion. In the bed she hadn't moved at all. Sighing, he stood up and hoped that for once fairy tales were real. Everyone knew the story of Sleeping Beauty. One kiss from her true love and she would awake. Maybe it was time to test that theory. _

_He leaned down, watching her figure for even a hint of movement. He hoped that the moment his lips touched hers, she would kiss him back, moaning in pleasure. She would sense his love for her, his want for her, his need for her. _

_He leaned closer still, her face getting nearer and neared. Feeling the heat of her breath mingling with his, he touched his lips to hers. He felt that spark that had always been there and slowly he felt her slowly coming back to him. She was the laughter, sadness, happiness and every thing else in his life. As he pulled back, he realized that nothing had changed at all. Absolutely nothing. _

_Standing up, all he could do was brush her hair back. "Goodbye sweetheart." He whispered, his voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. _

_Maybe he wasn't her true love after all._

"Dan!"

The melodic voice interrupted his memory, making him stumble out into the present. "Serena!"

He caught her in a hug, pressing her tight against him as though he would never see her again. "I missed you."

"I can tell." She smiled, leaning up to kiss the hollow of his throat. "I missed you too. Where's Caden?"

"Blair took him shopping." He sat down in an armchair, pulling her down onto his lap. "So what happened at the doctor's?"

"Every thing's fine. He said that I might have my full memory back soon." She giggled as she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck, tickling her.

"That's great, darling." Dan said, rubbing his hands up and down her sides. "Caden will be pleased. He's a lot quieter than he usually is around you."

"You mean he's louder than that?" Serena joked, turning around to snake her arms around Dan's neck. "You know, we ought to get a little shopping done ourselves. Didn't Caden make a Christmas list?"

"Yeah, he wanted a little sister remember? The only other thing on there is something about kangaroos and dinosaurs."

"Well lets go shopping for him then!" Serena jumped up from Dan's lap, pulling on his hands to make him get up. "Please?"

"But Blair's already taking him shopping!" Dan protested, drawing Serena in.

"Well everyone else needs presents too! You could use some new pairs of boxers. I saw some adorable ones at -"

"Wait..what?!"

"Please Dan." Serena pleaded. "I'll make it up to you." She whispered sexily in his ear, smirking when she heard him groan.

"Fine."

--

An hour later, both (Dan) were loaded down with bags. Ralph Lauren, Barney's, Bendels and whole lot more.

"Serena...we haven't been to one toy store. I thought we were shopping for Caden." Dan teased, putting the bags down on a nearby table, wrapping his arms around her waist as she retrieved their hot chocolate.

"I know, I just...well Christmas is coming up anyway and everyone else needs gifts! Like those cute teddy bear boxers I bought you!"

Dan blushed and quickly took a sip of the steaming beverage. "Don't say that out loud." He hissed at her, nuzzling her neck affectionately with his nose.

"I'll do what I want, Mr Humphrey." She giggled as she turned around in his arms, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"Well technically you're mine, so you can't." He retorted, laughing as she kissed him again. "So I was thinking for Christmas, we ought to get Caden that video game he wants really bad, Guitar Hero World Tour. What do you think?"

"I love Guitar Hero!" Serena squealed, smiling. "That's a great idea. Is he good at it?"

"Almost as good as you and he's only five." Dan admitted. "He got the pool gene from me though."

"Pool? I'm horrible at pool." Serena groaned. "I think it has to do with me never playing it before." She laughed, setting her cup down and sinking into the soft leather seats of the booth.

"You have played before, you know. You just don't remember." Dan said in a matter-of-fact tone, sliding in next to her.

"Was I good?"

"Er...sorta." Dan smiled at her. "I taught you how to play on our first date."

"God, I bet I was horrible." Serena moaned, putting her head in her hands playfully.

"You were good at everything else though." Dan smirked at her, drinking more hot chocolate.

Serena's eyes narrowed in mock anger. "Like what exactly?"

"Mushy kisses."

Serena rolled her eyes and leaned into him, her head resting on his firm chest. "You're so silly Dan."

"Silly? Don't you mean sexy?" She giggled as he leaned down and gave her an upside down kiss.

"No I mean silly." She grinned, sipping her hot chocolate when he broke the kiss.

"Pretty sure I heard sexy." Dan shrugged, his tongue flicking out to lap up the whipped cream mustache that had appeared on his lip.

Serena watched with fascinated eyes as he got most of the mustache off, his tongue just barely missing the small bit of froth located too far up.

"Here." She whispered. "Let me."

Placing two delicate hands on the side of his face, her tongue darted in and out of her mouth to lick up the last bit of whipped cream. He watched her silently, arms gripping her waist tightly and breathing much faster than was necessary.

"Thanks." He managed in a strangled voice, picking up and drinking from his cup in what he hoped was a nonchalant fashion.

"No problem," She replied in a chirpy voice.

--

"Auntie Blair, how come Uncle Chuck knows so much about making babies when you don't have a kid?" Caden asked absently, hugging his new teddy bear to his chest as he followed Blair into a department store.

"Well sweetie, its because Uncle Chuck is good friends with the stork so he tells Uncle Chuck the secrets." Blair fumbled for a quick reply.

"But I thought the stork wasn't real." Caden said, taking Blair's hand and following her into the Youth section.

"Of course the stork is real. How else would people get babies? Who told you that?"

"Uncle Chuck. And daddy said that you get babies from really really mushy kisses that he and momma have all the time."

"Well um, hey look its your mommy and daddy!" Blair stammered, spotting Dan and Serena about ten feet away looking at scarves.

"Momma!" Caden ran towards her, hugging her legs. "Did you get me my little sister yet?"

"No not yet." Serena laughed. "Soon okay?"

"Promise?" Caden held up a pinkie finger.

Serena knelt down to his height. "Well if I promise, daddy has to promise too."

"Daddy, please?"

Dan laughed and joined them while Blair watched. "Okay I promise."

The three of them locked fingers as best as they could. "Thank you!" Caden exclaimed, hugging Dan tightly.

"My pleasure." Dan replied, winking at Serena over Caden's shoulder.

"You two are disgusting." Blair grimaced, giving Serena a tight hug. "Christmas shopping, S? You know, there's this pair of heels I really want."

"Good to see you too Blair." Serena laughed. "We actually already got your present. So too late."

"Yeah, Serena's idea. New ways to please Chuck." Dan joked, watching Blair cringe.

"You're so funny Humphrey." Blair deadpanned. Looking at Caden she said, "Isn't your daddy quite the joker?"

"Yup! Daddy's the funniest." Caden said, smiling.

--

"Daddy...did I really come from the stork or from mommy's tummy?" Caden asked from his position on Dan's back. Shopping had ended an hour ago, with Dan and Serena taking Caden home and Chuck coming to pick up Blair.

"You really want to know, don't you son?" Dan asked, laughing. Caden nodded eagerly, sliding off Dan's back to sit next to him.

"Well why don't we go ask mommy? I bet she knows the answer." Dan said, ruffling Caden's hair and standing up to find Serena.

"Where is momma? She disappeared when you were giving me a piggy back ride."

"Well I think mommy is making dinner." Dan said, pushing the kitchen door open. "There she is."

"Momma! Please don't burn down the kitchen!" Caden pleaded, hugging Serena's legs.

Serena and Dan both laughed. "Ha ha, silly. I know how to cook spaghetti, don't worry. Daddy taught me."

"Oh. Okay." He released Serena's legs, looking up at her. "Daddy told me to ask you where I came from. Auntie Blair told me I came from the stork, and Uncle Eric said that I came out of mommy's tummy. Does that mean you ate me?"

"No I did not eat you." Serena laughed, shooting a glare at Dan. "You did come from my tummy, but only because when mommy and daddy got married, we wished for a baby really badly and then poof! You were in my stomach."

"Oh okay. Daddy wouldn't tell me so we had to come and ask you."

Serena shot another glare at Dan. "Well daddy's gonna get in trouble later because he came and interrupted momma's cooking."

Dan smiled sheepishly. "Well we also wanted to check if you burnt anything down." He said, laughing as he kissed her cheek.

"I'm not that bad of a chef, Dan. Dinner's actually ready, so you can shut up that adorable mouth of yours." Serena replied, wrapping her arms around Dan. "Go get washed up, you two."

"But momma..."

"No buts. Go. Daddy's going with you too." She pushed Dan towards Caden, blowing a kiss to the two of them.

"Fine." Caden grumbled, taking Dan's hand.

--

"'Daddy told me to ask you where I came from?'" Serena asked, hands on her hips. "You very well know where our son came from and you made him ask me!?"

"Sorry." Dan mumbled, smiling sheepishly. "He knows too much for a five year old. I was thinking you could sugar coat it."

"Well he is _your _kid. No wonder he's so smart." Serena mused, lying down next down to Dan.

"True." Dan laughed, earning a playful smack from Serena.

"So...I was thinking that maybe once it snows, we could go ice skating?" Serena asked, snuggling into Dan's side.

"Ice skating?" Dan asked, his voice wavering. "Define 'we'"

"Caden, me and you." Serena said, playing with the little hairs on Dan's chest. "So what do you think?"

"I think that I'd love to watch you and Caden skate while I stay safely away from it."

"You don't like skating?"

"Not really," Dan fidgeted uneasily. "I went to the Ice Capades when I was five, got scared out of my wits."

"Oh." Serena rolled on top of him, kissing him. "Would you go if I asked you to?"

"I...yes." Dan admitted, eyebrows knitted. "You wouldn't make me do that, would you?"

"Maybe." Serena teased, kissing him again. "You'd get a reward." She added.

"Reward? What kind of reward?" He smiled at her, grinning lazily at her. "Want to show me?"

"Well you don't get one tonight since you told Caden to ask me about babies. You're in trouble tonight Mister." Serena jabbed a finger softly into Dan's chest.

"Trouble? What's my punishment?" He asked, kissing her neck. "Because any punishment from you ought to be a good one."

"You'll see." Serena said mysteriously, rolling off of him and going into the closet. She emerged holding four scarves in various colors.

"Serena? What are you doing?" Dan choked out as she kissed him again.

She shushed him. "Bad boys have to be patient otherwise their punishment gets worse."

"In that case, I'm really really impatient." Dan muttered, watching Serena tie his arms to the bedpost.

"Okay bad boy, ready for your punishment?" She whispered into his ear after tying his legs, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

Without waiting for an answer she pressed her lips to his chest, earning a hiss from him. "Yes Dan?" She asked, pulling away.

"Tease." He gritted out, hissing again as she trailed a line of hot, open mouthed kisses from his jaw to his bellybutton.

"That's what you get for being a bad boy." She whispered in his ear, smirking. His arms shuddered, trying to break free of the scarves.

"When do I lose the manacles?" He asked desperately, trying to loosen the knot keeping his arms tied.

"When I think you're sufficiently punished." She replied easily, silencing him with a short, hot kiss.

"Serena," He moaned as she pulled away. "Please.."

She pressed her lips to his nipple, making him lose all restraint he had on ripping her scarves. His hands broke free and he grasped her by the waist, forcing her lips to his.

"Dan...you're supposed to be punished." Serena panted, letting out an involuntary moan as he kissed her neck. "Y-you're a bad bad boy."

"Untie me." He whispered, kissing her roughly. "Please."

Shaking her head, she pushed him away watching his head land on the pillow. "Sorry, but you ruined my scarves."

"Fine." He tried to reach down and untie his legs himself, but she pushed him again.

"No, punishment's not over quite yet." Serena crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "If you had been a good boy, we wouldn't be going through this right now."

"But I...Serena...I" Dan trailed off, unable to say anything as she playfully smacked his cheek.

"Shut up."

He opened his mouth ready to retort when their door burst open, showing a kangaroo pajama clad Caden rubbing his eyes. "Momma, daddy, I had a nightmare."

Serena quickly rolled off of Dan, pulled her t-shirt down and walked over to the crying little boy. "Come here sweetie. Its gonna be okay. Wanna tell me about it?"

Caden sniffled and began to explain as Dan hurriedly untied himself and joined them. "In my dream, you gave me a little sister and then you forgot all about me. So then I went to live with Uncle Chuck and Auntie Blair and they forgot about me too. I don't want you to forget about me."

"We'll never forget about you sweetheart." Serena said, rubbing Caden's back comfortingly. "Right Dan?"

"Never." He echoed. "You'll always be the number 1 in our lives and if you get a little sister, all you have to do is share that spot, okay?"

Caden looked up at Dan. "Okay daddy." He sniffled again, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Can I sleep with you tonight please?"

"Okay come on." Dan took Caden from Serena and laid him on the bed. Dan and Serena both snuggled in on either side, tucking the covers in.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for all the reviews. It really means a lot to me. The more reviews the faster I update to be honest. I finished this last night at 2 AM so I had drag my ass up this morning to look over it lol. Hope you like it:D**

**Also, this would have been up faster if Laura and Raddy hadn't been distracting me lol  
**

"Mommy! Daddy! Its snowing!!"

"What?" Dan lifted his head up, eyes half closed to see Caden jabbing at the door that separated the balcony from the master bedroom.

"Its snowing!!" Caden repeated, his dark green eyes aglow with joy. "Its Christmas Eve too!!"

"Yup. It sure is." Dan sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked at a just now awaking Serena next to him. "Morning sweetheart."

Serena yawned as she leaned her head on Dan's shoulder. "Morning Bad Boy. Did I hear something about snow?"

"Yeah momma, its snowing outside!" Caden jumped back onto the bed, causing the mattress to bounce. "Can we go play in the snow? Please?"

"After breakfast, okay?" Serena said, glancing at Dan.

"Okay! I'm so glad you're better for Christmas momma."

"I am too sweetheart." Serena said, giving Caden a big cuddle and peppering his face with sloppy kisses.

"Daddy! Help!" Caden giggled as Serena started tickling him. Dan laughed and joined in, tickling the little boy all over his body and kissing him on the cheeks and forehead. Caden tried to roll away, but Dan grabbed him, holding him out for Serena to tickle. "Mommy! It tickles!!!"

Caden squirmed in Dan's arms, uncontrollable, contagious giggles spilling out of his mouth with no end in sight. For a brief second, Serena stopped to take a breath and Caden leaned up to whisper in Dan's ear. "Daddy, did momma buy us the candy canes?" The smile dropped from Dan's face as he hugged Caden tighter.

Every Christmas since they had Caden, Serena would always buy candy canes for Christmas Eve. It was somewhat of a tradition, one that they weren't going to let go of anytime soon. "Hey Caden, why don't you, um, go get the present you made for mommy at school so we can put it under the tree later?" Dan fumbled for an excuse to get Caden out of the room.

"Okay daddy." Caden hopped off of the bed and padded in his fuzzy slippers to his own room.

"Dan, what's going on? Is something wrong?" Serena placed a slender hand on his shoulder, the rings catching the sunlight streaming in through the glass door.

Dan forced a smile as he turned towards her, relaxing at the contact. "Its nothing. Come on, lets go make breakfast for Caden." He started to get out of bed, stopping when she made no move to.

"Dan, tell me, please."

He shook his head. "No really its nothing. Come on." He held out his hand for her.

She ignored it, striding past him. "Caden!" She called. He appeared in front of her holding a brightly wrapped package in his hands.

"Hi momma."

"Caden honey, what did you say to daddy to upset him? Will you tell me?" She asked him, kneeling down to his height.

"I was just asking daddy if you got us the candy canes. That's all, momma." Caden replied, fidgeting with the present. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No of course not." She stroked his hair, wondering about his statement. "Mommy and daddy bought a few boxes of candy canes when we went shopping. You can go grab one if you like sweetheart."

Caden shook his head. "No its okay momma. Don't worry." He wrapped his arms around Serena's neck, giving her a brief hug. "I'm gonna go downstairs okay momma?" Serena nodded faintly and Caden padded downstairs, one hand on the banister.

Serena sighed as she stood up and turned around, seeing Dan leaning against their bedroom doorway. "Dan.."

"Its nothing gorgeous, just forget it." He put a hand on her face gently, brushing the curls that fell in her face off to the side.

"No, no. What is it? Tell me, I don't remember. Please." She pleaded, holding his hand to her face.

"Its just this tradition we have. You usually buy three candy canes every Christmas Eve for us all, but don't worry about it, okay? Its no big deal."

Serena felt a sinking feeling in her chest, though she knew it wasn't her fault, she still felt guilty. Caden and Dan must've been crushed. "I'm so sorry." Serena choked out, tears spilling out of her emerald eyes. "I'm a terrible person." She cried, collapsing into Dan's arms.

"Shh," He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly as Caden came up. "Its gonna be okay."

"Momma, are you okay?" Caden looked up at her, worried.

Serena took a deep breath as she crouched down to his height again. "Caden sweetie, I'm so sorry, mommy's gonna go buy you a hundred candy canes next Christmas okay? I promise."

"Its okay momma. Really."

Serena pulled him into a tight hug, feeling like a horrible mom. "I'm so sorry." She repeated.

"I think daddy needs one of your cuddles, too." Caden whispered back, pulling away and heading back to his room.

Dan snaked his arms around Serena's waist as she stood up slowly, tears still coming down. "Hey, hey. Its alright." He held onto her tightly as tears fell silently down her face. He kissed the top of head. "Its not your fault. You're a great mom to Caden."

Before he could murmur more reassurances, Caden popped out again. This time with reindeer antlers on. "Momma, daddy! I found my antlers!"

Serena giggled as she toyed with the brown headband. "You look adorable Caden."

"There's that four year old laugh that I love," Dan proclaimed, picking up Caden. "and you need a shiny red nose if you're gonna be Rudolph."

Serena and Caden both burst into another round of giggles.

--

"Dan!" Serena screamed as he body checked her into a pile of snow. "It's so c-cold!"

"Baby its snow. Of course its cold." He smiled at her as he stood up brushing snow off of his jacket before extending a hand out to her.

Serena took it, rolling her eyes. "Isn't daddy mean, Caden? He pushed me into the freezing snow."

Caden giggled, shaking the melting snow out of his hair. "Can we build a snowman, daddy? Auntie Blair let me borrow Uncle Chuck's scarf so we can use it to build one."

Dan laughed, handing Caden a wool hat. "I don't think Uncle Chuck would like his scarf being used that way. God knows how protective he is of that thing. Now put this on before your ears fall off."

Caden quickly took the hat and stuffed it on his head. "No! I like my ears!"

Serena giggled, wrapping her arms around Dan's waist. _"Daddy's _ears are gonna fall off since _he's _not wearing a hat."

"Well someone had to sacrifice their ears for our son. I don't think Caden likes pink, right?" Dan played with the pink beanie Serena had put on after breakfast.

"Pink is a girlie color! I like blue! Like Grover!" Caden said excitedly. "Not like Elmo. Elmo scares me."

"I never did like Elmo when I was little," Serena laughed, watching Caden fall down onto the snow and start to move his arms and legs to make a snow angel.

Dan turned to Serena, smiling. "Come on."

"What?"

"Make a snow angel with me and Caden." He dropped down into the snow, doing exactly what Caden had done. "Please?" He added, begging.

"Fine." Serena rolled her eyes at him, dropping down into the snow next to him. She spread her arms and legs apart, moving them from side to side. She hopped up shortly after, pretending to admire her work. "Isn't it beautiful?" She laughed.

Dan sprang up as well laughing. "Gorgeous. Caden's is way better than yours though." Serena rolled her eyes again, playfully punching him in the arm.

Caden stood up, proudly gesturing towards the small indent in the white snow. "Daddy, can we make a snowman now?"

"Alright, you silly goose." He put a hand on Serena's shoulder when she rose to join them. "No, no, you're staying right here. Another tradition we have," He explained, smiling as he squeezed her shoulder. "Us Humphrey men make the snowman while you go make us hot chocolate."

"Do I have to?" Serena mock-whined, holding on to Dan. "I mean it looks so much funner out here. But I'll go inside if you want me to."

Dan laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist as she stood up. "Serena," She looked at him, wondering what he wanted now. "I'm just kidding." Laughing again, he leaned in and kissed her. "Now come on, darling. We have an anxious five year old who's tired of us kissing."

--

The sun was setting against the New York horizon when they finally went inside, the sunset casting a pink and orange feel to the snowy backyard.

"Momma, can we have hot chocolate? Please?" Caden pleaded, pulling off his gloves.

"Sure baby, let me just shake out my hair okay?" Serena grinned mischievously, leaning her head down and shaking it out, all the melting snow landing on Dan and Caden.

"Serena!" "Momma!" Dan and Caden exclaimed simultaneously.

Serena blew a kiss at them before gliding over to the kitchen. "Are you sure you want _me _to make the hot chocolate sweetie?"

Caden's eyes widened. "Uh..maybe daddy should make it!"

Dan chuckled before walking over to Serena, pecking her on the lips. "You just want to get out of work."

"Well I ought to save some of my energy for later." Serena whispered, as she walked out of the kitchen. Dan watched her go, eyes fixed on her swaying hips. He shook himself and took out the instant hot chocolate packages.

"Momma, are my ears okay?" Caden asked, rubbing his hands over his pink ears.

"Perfect." Serena kissed his forehead as she pulled him onto her lap to play with his ears. "The coolest ears I've ever seen."

"But I thought mine were the best." Dan mock whined as he brought over three mugs of hot chocolate loaded with whipped cream.

"Nope," Serena teased Dan, picking up a mug. "Caden's are the best."

Dan rolled his eyes as he watched Serena blow the steam from the mug softly. Her cheeks were flushed pink from playing in the snow. Those _lips_..they seemed to be taunting him. Dan shook himself and handed Caden a mug of the steaming liquid. He barely heard himself warn the little boy that it would be hot.

Serena turned towards Dan, a smile gracing her face. The next thing that happened seem to be in slow motion. Her left eye closed as she winked at him, her eyelashes fluttering. He reached over to touch her knee and at that moment Caden promptly stood up and said, "Momma, Daddy! We forgot to decorate the tree!"

Dan broke out of the daze, immediately setting his mug down on the brown coffee table. "Its okay Caden, Santa Claus will do it."

"But I wanted to do it with you and momma." Caden pouted, both hands grasping the big blue mug, his mouth covered with whipped cream.

"You have to go to sleep early tonight, Caden. Otherwise Santa Claus won't come, right Serena?" Dan shot a look towards the woman who occupied his thoughts every single waking moment, whether he liked it or not.

"But daddy.." Caden groaned, his green eyes turning into the puppy dog eyes he knew well.

"No, bath then sleep alright?"

"Daddy..please?" He looked to Serena for help. "Momma, can I?"

"Sorry Caden, listen to your father." Serena said, ruffling Caden's hair. "Besides I think you beat up daddy with your snowballs so he has to go relax."

"Oh, okay. But Grandpa and Grandma are coming over tomorrow right? And Auntie Blair and Uncle Chuck!?"

"Yup, now finish your hot chocolate."

--

"Night momma. Night daddy." Caden said as both of his parents pecked him on the cheek. "Santa's gonna come tonight, right?"

"Not if you don't go to sleep, silly." Serena smiled at her, tucking in the dinosaur covered comforter. "Goodnight sweetheart."

"Love you."

Dan and Serena closed the door quietly as they said, "Love you too." in unison. They padded quietly down to their bedroom, Dan's arm wrapped tightly around Serena's waist.

"Serena," He kicked the door closed gently, as to not disturb the sleeping boy just down the hall. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything." She replied, watching him nervously scratch his cheek.

"Well, uh I want you to go downstairs, open the refrigerator and inside there's gonna be a Tupperware container with your name on it. I want you to eat two of the things inside and then bring the rest up here, alright?"

"Okay," Serena giggled at his strange instructions, but nevertheless made her way down the stairs quietly. She opened the fridge quietly and pulled out the container as instructed. She wrenched open the top, gasping in delight when she saw the succulent, chocolate covered strawberries. As she took a bite out of one, she was transported into another memory.

_She tugged on his earphone, yanking it from his ear and gained his attention. "Sorry." His eyes locked onto hers, giving her an involuntary shivering sensation down her back. "Um, I'm done reading my magazine," She held it out for him to take, watching as his eyes slid to her hand. "and I know you like.." She trailed off as he reached out a hand to take it, the fingers of his right hand brushing against hers. _

_They both paused, Dan looking like he was going to pass out any minute now just from the sheer contact. Serena smirked, glancing down at their hands before slowly releasing the magazine, watching as he hand quickly held on to it to prevent it from falling. "the music reviews so if you want to read it you can." She finished her previous sentence, turning back to face the front._

_"Thank you." She heard him say in that deep voice of his. She turned back to look at him, eyes catching his because she knew he had been staring at her. Smirking as she quickly turned her head back, she noticed he did the same, refusing to let her have the upper hand. _

_While bus continued to move at its slow 55 miles per hour rate, opened her box of Godiva Milk Chocolate Dipped Strawberries decorated lavishly with white chocolate. Casually popping the end of one into her mouth, she failed to notice that Dan had looked up from the magazine and was staring at her intensely as each slow painful second passed. _

_He watched as her lips left the strawberry slowly, effortlessly. He wanted nothing more than just...Damn the slow bus. Damn her for not sitting next to him. He swore the air conditioning just stopped working as she sucked the remaining chocolate off of her fingers. Damn tease. _

_She caught sight of him and smirked again while licking the chocolate off of her index finger seductively. She closed her eyes as she looked away, watching his chest heave up and down as he struggled to breathe. "You want one?" She offered cheerfully, holding out the half eaten strawberry._

"_Uh no thanks I'm good." He replied easily, feeling his shorts tighten mercilessly. It continued as she popped it in her mouth again, the red fruit taunting him. _

_Shortly after, Serena stood up trying to make her way to the back of the bus where the bathroom was located without toppling over. The Jitney hit a speed bump about five seconds after she had gotten up and she was flung to her right. Thinking fast, Dan caught her, one hand on her thigh and the other wrapped firmly around her waist as her arms caught the headrest, immediately sliding to behind his ear._

"_I'm sorry..I" She trailed off as she cupped his chin with one hand, their sudden contact making a certain heat spread through her body and she felt her heart rate increase dangerously._

"_Its okay." _

_Her hand trailed down to his collarbone as she met his gaze and her nails pierced his skin through his shirt. Ignoring the bemused smirk of the girl behind Dan, she pulled him up from his seat, leading if not dragging him to the back of the bus._

_Several heated kisses later, Serena was done playing games. The bus temperature had become unbearable and without a second thought, she pulled him into the small lavatory, her original destination. _

"Serena?"

She looked up, and all she could see was this sexy, young, husband of hers practically waiting for his clothes to be torn off so she could ravish him. Or he could ravish her. Either way, it was a win/win situation.

"Dan.." She said breathlessly, wrapping her arms around his neck, still holding the container, and pressed her lips to hers.

"Mmm," He broke the kiss gently, leaning his forehead against hers. "What brought this on?"

"We had sex on a bus, didn't we?" She whispered feeling excited and reborn, kissing him again. "I just remembered and...I just..wow."

He wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned in to kiss him again. "Darling, as much as I love kissing you, I have a surprise for you and if we're not quiet, we're gonna wake Caden up."

She wrapped her legs around his waist, surprising him. "Carry me, please?" She pleaded, peppering his face with kisses.

Dan let out an involuntary groan before leaning to whisper, "Doesn't look like I have too much of a choice."

--

Dan slipped a scarf over Serena's eyes tying it securely. "Dan," She giggled, hands feeling around for something to grasp onto. "What are you doing?"

"I told you..I have a surprise for you. Now I'm going to lead you somewhere okay?"

"Okay," Serena laughed nervously, relaxing when she felt his hands on hers. "I love you." He whispered into her ear as he led her into the bathroom. He cupped her ear, leaning in to kiss her gently. He undid the makeshift blindfold, letting it fall to the ground where their clothes would soon lay.

She gasped as the material fell and she regained her eyesight. Dan had filled the large bathroom with many small candles, their light flickering in the darkness. There were red rose petals scattered aimlessly around the room, adding to the romantic feel. She looked over to the bathtub where the aroma of lavenders was coming from and felt her breath catch in her chest. He had filled the large, white, claw footed bathtub with hot, steamy water and her favorite bubble bath. He had also taken the strawberries and aligned them on a tray not far away from the tub. "_Dan.."_

"Do you like it?" He asked from his position behind her, one hand on her lower back. "I thought you might want to relax after the snow so I thought of what we did after our anniversary a couple of years ago."

"Tell me what happened," She pleaded, turning around to face him. "Please."

Dan smiled as he tugged off his shirt and brushed a few fingers against his left shoulder blade. He turned so that she could see and smiled as she gasped. Her fingers flitted to his upper arm where her name was imprinted on his skin. "We went out and Chuck and Nate babysat while we somehow ended up getting tattoos. Then we came back here and had a nice bubble bath."

"I can't believe I haven't noticed it." Serena murmured absently, stroking the black ink. Goosebumps formed on his skin as she touched him. "Do I have one too?"

Dan spun her around, his hand immediately flying to her to her hip. He pressed her up against him as he undid the zipper to her pants, breathing heavily in her ear. He tugged her pants down slightly, his hand touching a spot on her inner thigh. She looked in the full length mirror, watching his finger traced the small heart imprinted next to his name. "When we came back, before we took our bath, we found Caden and Chuck on the couch, their mouths covered with chocolate and Nate was on the ground, sleeping and holding a baseball bat." He whispered, laughing as he kissed a spot behind her ear. "You got really mad at them for giving a one year old chocolate."

She giggled as she spun around again, slipping out of her pants. "Come on, the water's getting cold." She whispered in his ear, quickly taking her clothes off, eager to get out of the chilly air and into the hot bathtub with Dan. "You're going to be joining me, right?" Serena replied, wrapping her arms around his neck, giving him a soft kiss.

He watched her with fascinated eyes. "_Baby.._" He trailed off, groaning when she playfully kissed his shoulder. "I can't..I won't be able to control myself."

"Then don't." She whispered back, her hands pulling his baggy cords off. She pulled away, smirking at him. She slid her feet into the tub, quickly sliding her body in as well. "Dan, hurry up." She turned to look at him only to see him climbing in, causing the water level to rise a couple inches more. He slid to one end of the bathtub, the bubbles sticking to his bare chest. She giggled as he pulled her closer to him, her bare back meeting his chest. She leaned up to kiss him, giggling. "I love you," She whispered, closing her eyes, one hand resting on her stomach beneath the bubbles.

"I love you too." He said before starting to rub her back gently, scrubbing it gently with a small loofah. He placed a kiss at the nape of her neck, lingering there a moment longer than was necessary. "I can't wait for tomorrow." He said, smiling as he began to rub her collarbone with the loofah.

"You're like Caden. It seems to be your favorite holiday." Serena said, sinking a bit deeper into the hot water.

"It is. On December 24th, 2007 I lost..my virginity." Dan said, his making their ways around her torso. "To you. It was truly the best Christmas ever."

Serena blushed as she felt a heat spread through her that surely wasn't the water. She leaned back against Dan and grinned up at him. "I was your first." She mused quietly, smiling.

"And only." Dan muttered, his lips flying across her shoulder to her neck. "You are the only person I have ever made love with and it is remarkable, and it was just as fantastic when we had Caden."

Serena stared at him, speechless and biting her lip. "You are so sweet," She murmured burying her head into the crook of his neck, the top of her head, brushing against the bottom of his short dark curls. She yawned, quickly holding a hand over her mouth.

"You're sleepy," Dan muttered accusingly, the loofah rubbing softly against her stomach. He kissed the top of her head, his free hand coming up to stroke her cheek.

"Not really," Serena tried to stifle another yawn, but failed doing so, and instead watched Dan smile at her.

"Come on, let's get you out of here before you fall asleep and I have to carry you out," Dan laughed, kissing Serena's forehead affectionately.

"No," Serena complained, protesting as he picked her up and out of the tub. "Wanna stay in tub."

"Darling, you're getting incoherent." Dan laughed as he wrapped a bathrobe against her frame.

--

Serena's eyes fluttered open and she found herself looking at Dan's sleeping face. "Morning," She whispered, kissing him as his eyes opened.

"Merry Christmas." He smiled at her, kissing her again when she pulled away. "Have a good sleep?"

"Yes, thanks." Serena splayed a hand against his bare chest. "Dan," She paused, biting her lip. He waited patiently, his brown eyes reminding her of melted Hershey Kisses. "I had a dream last night. I don't know what to make of it."

"Tell me," He prodded, his hand skimming over her tan arm, playing absently with her arm hair.

"It was Christmas Eve and you wanted snow. So I sort of got you fake snow in the gallery, and then we had sex for the first time."

"That wasn't a dream, baby. I think that was a memory," Dan smiled, taking her hand and rubbing small circles on it with his thumb. "I'm glad you're remembering more. Its like this amazing Christmas present I keep getting."

Serena blushed, leaning down to kiss him again. Their door swung open quickly and she stopped, turning her head.

"It's Christmas!!" Caden yelled excitedly, jumping on the bed. "Can we go open presents!?"

"Come here you silly boy," Dan sat up and grabbed Caden, pinning him down. "We haven't even had breakfast yet and you want to open presents?" Dan joked, laughing.

"Yes daddy." Caden smiled, springing up again. "Can we? Momma?"

"Alright, let's go, you silly goose." Serena motioned for Dan to throw her the silk robe resting on the chair right beside him. She put it on as she watched Dan pick up Caden and carry him piggy back style out the door.

--

"Momma? Daddy? Did Santa Claus bring you a present? He decorated the tree, but I didn't see any presents for you." Caden asked, playing with his new giant kangaroo. "'Cause if he didn't, then you two must have been bad."

"We were Caden. Mommy and daddy were very bad." Dan winked at Serena, kissing her on the lips briefly. "Too bad for Santa Claus to even consider giving us presents."

"We weren't _that _bad last night." Serena teased, grinning at him while sliding her arms around her waist.

"Well you fell asleep while I was carrying you and I couldn't bear waking you for my personal enjoyments." Dan laughed, careful not to distract Caden from his toy.

"Well get ready for tonight because I have your present all wrapped up and ready." Serena smiled as she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Ooh I can't wait. However, you will receive different parts of your present throughout the day. I really hope you like it, Serena."

"Will it top what we gave Caden?" She took a sip of her hot chocolate and set it back on the table before gesturing at the large, lifelike kangaroo.

"Why don't we find out? You get your first present..now." Dan pulled out a sprig of mistletoe and held it over her head. "Merry Christmas, darling." He cupped her cheek with one hand, the other still holding the mistletoe, and kissed her gently on the lips.

Dan pulled away as the doorbell rang, echoing in the vast house. "That'll be my dad and Lily." He said, giving her another peck before going to open the door.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Caden jumped up and ran towards them, immediately hugging Rufus' legs. "You came!"

"Here we are, and we brought presents too!" Lily pulled out a large, brightly wrapped present and handed it to Caden.

"Lily I thought we agreed that we would give him my present first." Rufus pretended to be angry at Lily before rolling his eyes and pulled out a large, suspiciously guitar case shaped present and tossed it to Dan. "Merry Christmas son and no that's not for you."

Dan rolled his eyes before setting the present down and hugging Rufus. "Hey dad. Its good to see you, you know with your tour and all that?"

"Its Christmas. I'm always here for that. Now who wants waffles?" Dan chuckled as he picked up the present again and walked with Rufus over to the kitchen.

"Kitchen's all yours dad."

Rufus smiled, hugging Serena briefly before entering the kitchen. "Hey you haven't heard from Jenny have you?" He asked Dan, donning an apron.

"Yeah, she's in Paris right now. She wishes us a Merry Christmas." Dan smiled before turning back to Serena. "Jenny's my little sister." He explained.

"Yeah I know. I mean sometimes I look through the photo albums. Yeah, let's just say you looked adorable in your T-ball uniform."

Dan crinkled his nose, turning away from watching Lily play with Caden. "Adorable? Serena that was only about six years ago. Caden is adorable, puppies are adorable, me however not really."

Serena laughed and slid her arms around his waist from behind. "Well I'm sorry then. How about this: You looked so hot for a second I thought you were the sun."

Dan laughed, turning around to kiss her. "You need to work on your pick up lines, baby."

"Like you could do better." Serena retorted.

Dan rolled his eyes before leaning to whisper, "Excuse me, but I need you to empty your pockets. I believe you've stolen my heart."

"You're so cheesy Dan." Serena teased, glancing over at Caden. "I must be a snowflake, 'cause I've fallen for you."

"Look who's cheesy now." Dan laughed, kissing her forehead.

"Waffles are up!" Rufus called from the kitchen.

"Waffles!!" Caden ran into the kitchen, flying past Dan and Serena.

"Let's go get some breakfast. "

--

"So when do I get my present?" Dan asked, kissing Serena's knuckles as they continued their walk. After breakfast Dan had requested Serena's presence on a walk with him while Caden played with his Grandpa and Grandma.

"Tonight. When do I get my second one?" Serena asked, leaning to kiss Dan.

"Oh right." Dan let go of her hand and reached into his coat pocket. He produced a red rose and held it out to her, smiling.

"A rose?" She held up the flower, her thumb and index finger locked on the green stem.

"Yeah, its New York's state flower, didn't you know?" He replied, smiling as she burst into giggles.

"Thank you." She leaned in to kiss him again, before holding the flower up to her nose, taking in the aroma.

"Don't worry, you have more." Dan said, taking her hand again. "You know I was thinking that when Caden goes back to school, we should go riding."

"Riding, like horseback riding?"

"Not exactly." Dan lead her up the path to the garage, and dashed inside quickly to open it and ran out again. The garage door opened slowly to reveal Serena's third gift. She gasped as she saw it, a gleaming Capri blue Vespa with a black leather seat and a diamond like headlight right in the middle.

"_Dan.." _

"Do you like it?"

Serena threw her arms around Dan's neck, hugging him tightly. "I love it! I love Vespas! How did you-? Dan this is amazing, thank you!"

"You're welcome baby. Anything to make up for our first date. I felt so bad when -" He continued to speak but Serena didn't hear a word as she launched back to the past.

_Her mouth dropped open as she saw the little scooter on the corner. "Oh my god. A vespa." She squealed. "I can't believe it! I love vespas!" She gasped as she walked towards it, hand skimming over the top of it appreciatively. "Oh my gosh, you don't understand, I spent one of my favorite summers riding all around Italy on one of these. How did you know? My mom won't let me learn how to drive, because she says thats what drivers are for, but really Dan, this is amazing. Really." She said earnestly, watching him bow his head, thinking that he must be nervous. "Come on, where are the helmets?" She asked, looking behind her._

"_Mr Humphrey!" A voice called from behind her and she turned to see a chauffeur waiting with a town car. _

_Serena turned back to Dan, the fact dawning on her. "Is- is he ours?" She pointed to the man._

"_Yeah."  
_

"_Okay, great." Serena said halfheartedly, climbing off of the vespa and following Dan to the car._

"Serena?"

She shook her head, and looked up at him. "Hey, sorry. Just..memory."

"I figured." Dan smiled as he kissed her forehead. "So you wanna give her a whirl?" He pulled out a light blue Soft Touch helmet.

"Only if you're with me." Serena smiled, kissing him as he extracted another helmet out, this time a red one. "I love you." She said softly, squeezing him tight.

"I love you too." He whispered, kissing her again before gently putting the helmet on her head and strapping it. "You know I don't think I like that helmet very much."

Serena's hands flew to her head. "Why? Does it look bad?"

Laughing, Dan unstrapped it and pulled it off. "No, its just I can't really kiss you like that."

Serena laughed as she leaned in to kiss his eagerly awaiting lips. "Is that enough to keep you satisfied for now?"

"Not really, but maybe we could go on a private ride later?" Dan suggested, smirking.

"After your Christmas present." Serena smiled, taking the helmet back from him and putting it on.

"Alright, can't wait." Dan said as he climbed onto the back of the vespa. "Well?" He gestured to the handlebars. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for you to put your helmet on so you don't die." Serena quipped, putting his helmet on for him.

"Thanks Serena." He kissed the back of her neck as she sat snugly in front him.

"We're going to crash if you don't stop doing that." She muttered, goosebumps forming on her arms when she ran his hands up and down her sides.

Dan rolled his eyes, but quickly held on when she suddenly accelerated, tearing down the path, her laughter echoing around.

--

"Oh my gosh, Dan that was so much fun. Thank you!" Serena squealed, throwing her arms around Dan's neck.

"My pleasure baby. There's a helmet for Caden in the compartment. How about you get it out while I go open the garage?" Dan asked, arms slipping around her waist as he kissed her.

"Sure." Serena walked over to the vespa and unlocked the compartment. She opened it and instead of finding a kid size helmet, she found a fairly medium sized black box. Sitting on the vespa, she opened it and gasped. Inside lay a silver heart watch complimented by a pink and white band. "_Dan.._"

"Someone call for a Dan?" A voice asked behind her. She whirled around, seeing her husband, smiling bashfully, hands in his pockets. "I opened the garage and Merry Christmas Serena."

"I love it! Thank you." She leaned up to kiss him before he wheeled the vespa back into their garage.

"I actually have to give half the credit to Caden. I was looking for a present for you and I narrowed down my choices and he decided that his mommy deserved a watch worthy of her beauty."

"You liar, he did not say that." Serena said, blushing.

"Okay yeah. But he did help me pick it out. So yeah."

"Daniel Humphrey, you are such a romantic." Serena said, cheeks still flushed and not because of the vespa ride.

"Only for you." Dan said softly, taking her hand. "Come on, I think Caden misses his mommy. Blair and Chuck are coming soon remember?"

"Oh yeah. Is there some way we could tell them not to come and make Caden go to sleep a couple hours early?" Serena joked.

"I wish." Dan laughed, urging her faster. "Come on I'll race you. Last one there has to strip tonight."

He let go of her and began to run, quickly slipping into an jog when he saw how behind Serena was. "You're gonna lose baby." He called back, running backwards, almost hitting a tree.

"Then get ready for the teasing of your life." Serena called back, getting closer now.

Dan sped up, wrenching open the back door. "I win!" He panted out.

"Don't you know its polite to let a lady win, Humphrey?" Serena said, getting her breath back as she entered the door.

"Don't you know I want to see you strip?" Dan replied, smirking.

"Oh shut up." Serena laughed.

--

"Momma? Did you like the watch me and daddy picked out for you?" Caden asked, wrapping Chuck's scarf around his neck.

"I sure did. Thank you so much." Serena said, sipping her hot chocolate.

"Oh that reminds me. Caden, Auntie Blair and I have a present for you."

"Really? Uncle Chuck where is it!?"

Chuck reached behind him and pulled out a big rectangular box. "Merry Christmas Caden."

Caden turned to his uncle. "It's not a scarf, is it?"

"No, sweetie. Just open it." Blair said eagerly.

"Okay." Caden ripped open the paper, revealing none other than a Nintendo Wii. "Awesome! Thank you Uncle Chuck, Auntie Blair. Thank you!"

"No problem kiddo." Chuck smiled as he took back his scarf. "I need my scarf back though."

"Uncle Chuck.."

"No. I'll get you your own scarf."

"But it won't be like yours."

"Yes it will. I'll find one."

"Please?"

"You don't want that scarf Caden." Serena cut in. "Uncle Chuck does bad things with it."

"Like what?"

"Nothing! Just..here." He handed Caden the scarf, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Thank you Uncle Chuck! Will you play Wii with me?"

"Uh.." Chuck fidgeting scratching the back of his neck. "I can't because your daddy has something for your mommy on the TV."

"Like what exactly?" Serena asked, glancing at Dan.

"Another part of your present." He grinned sheepishly in reply.

"Dan, you've already done so much." She put a hand on his knee as she leaned in to kiss him.

"We'll just take Caden to his room to play with his toys." Blair said, winking at Serena.

Serena blushed as Blair, Chuck and Caden left the room, with the Wii and scarf. "So what's this thing you have to show me?"

Dan hit a button on the remote and the TV turned on along with the DVD player. A second later, Serena saw herself on the screen, holding Dan's hand and in a gorgeous green dress.

"Dan..what is this?"

"Prom." He answered simply, squeezing her hand.

"_Dad you know, you don't have to follow us around." Dan said, shielding his body with Serena's_. "_It's kind of embarrassing, right Serena?"_

"_I don't think its that bad." _

"_Serena! Stop encouraging him!" A loud laugh erupted from behind the camera._

"_You two go dance. I'll be here."_

"_You're such a liar dad." _

"_Just go. You'll be grateful one day when you have kids." Rufus laughed, focusing the camera on Serena's baby bump._

"_Dad, we're kinda already having a kid." Dan laughed wrapping his arms around Serena's waist, both hands splayed on her stomach._

"_Exactly. Now go dance." The voice ordered. _

"_Come on darling." Dan pulled Serena onto the dance floor where a slow song began to start. The camera zoomed in as Dan wrapped his arms around Serena's waist, kissing her on the lips as she looped her arms around his neck._

"_Rufus what are you doing?" The camera turned to show Lily van der Woodsen, glaring at the camera. _

_The camera cut to the crowning ceremony where Blair stood up at the podium, tiara perfectly placed on top of her head. "And our other prom queen is...Serena van der Woodsen!" _

_Chuck halfheartedly spoke into the microphone. "Prom King...Dan Humphrey."_

_Dan and Serena made their way onto the stage slowly, arms linked together. Dan took both crowns and put Serena's on for her. Smiling, he gave her a kiss before putting his own on. _

Dan shut the TV off as Serena started crying. "Baby what's wrong?"

"Dan..this is amazing. Thank you so much." Serena said, hurriedly wiping her eyes.

"You deserve it all Serena. You really do." Dan tilted her head up as he kissed her.

Just then Caden ran downstairs holding a teddy bear. "Merry Christmas momma." He said, handing it to her and kissing her on the cheek.

"Another present? When did you get me this, Caden?" Serena asked as she hugged the bear to her chest.

"I didn't. Daddy did." Caden said. "I helped him pick it out though." He stuck out his chest proudly.

"Well you did an excellent job, sweetie. Thank you so much."

"I love you momma." He smiled before dashing upstairs.

"Well pretty girl, that's all your presents."

"I could have just settled for one, you know." She said, blushing.

"I know, but what fun is that?" Dan replied, his palm on her knee. "Once Chuck and Blair leave and we have dinner, do I get my present?"

"Yes you do naughty boy." She leaned and kissed him again. "You know, I can't stop kissing you. You're like this drug I can't get enough of."

"I hope I'm a _good _drug." Dan said, running his fingers through her hair. He traced the curve of her earlobe as he said, "I'd rather be good for you and not have you than be bad for you and have you."

"You are the best drug for me. My one and only addiction. Excluding chocolate covered strawberries of course."

Dan laughed as he kissed the top of her hand. "I love you Serena Humphrey. I always will, even if you don't remember me." That was it, he had broached the topic that would either destroy all they had come to build or make it better.

"I will." Serena said faintly. "I will do anything to have my memory back of you. Dan, my life..it isn't anything without you. Anything at all."

"It's okay if you don't you know." Dan said softly, no longer looking at her. "Really, it is. It...it won't matter to me."

"Stop lying!" Serena snapped, but immediately recoiled. "I'm sorry. Its just that the way you look at me...it makes me want to remember, it makes me want to be someone worthy of that look. I think that as long as you..we believe in us, I will remember. I'm remembering things everyday Dan."

"I know, but there is that chance. But you're right. I believe in us. And you _will _remember." He kissed her again, and this time the kisses weren't just playful, they were filled with some intense desire to have her believe him.

"Hey...Eleanor..whoops." Blair started to say but quickly averted her eyes and closed her mouth.

Serena pulled back and smiled at Blair. "Eleanor what?"

"Apparently she needs Chuck and I to leave and go straight to the penthouse. I think she invited daddy again!" Blair said smiling. She and her mother had overcome their issues in the last couple of years.

"Okay. It was good seeing you, B." Serena stood up to hug Blair, falling back into their old pattern except this time it was Blair leaving to go somewhere to meet someone and Serena staying behind with her family.

"Chuck!" Blair called, slipping on her coat. "We're leaving!"

"Aww, does Uncle Chuck have to?" Caden appeared at the top of the stairs clutching a soft stuffed dinosaur.

"Yes buddy. And after dinner you have to take a bath and go to sleep alright? You got up really early today." Dan said, giving Chuck a 'hug' as he came down the stairs.

"Can I keep your scarf Uncle Chuck?"

"Sure."

--

"Daddy!" Caden yelled as Dan messed up his carefully constructed faux hawk. "Why'd you mess it up? Its hard to do it with water!"

"Buddy, you're going to sleep, not a rock concert." Dan laughed, toweling Caden's hair dry as Serena appeared in the doorway.

"Look at my silly boys." Serena laughed, kissing Dan and Caden on the cheek. "Now come on, bedtime."

"But momma... you and daddy aren't going to sleep." Caden smiled as Serena picked him up.

"Well thats because daddy and I are adults. Besides, we don't get to do all the cool stuff you get to do."

"Like what momma?" Caden asked as she put him down on the bed.

"Well we don't get Wiis for Christmas, thats for sure. And we can't ever touch Uncle Chuck's scarf." Serena started listing things as Dan joined her.

"We don't get to go to school. Daddy has to work otherwise we're poor." Dan laughed as he hung up Caden's dinosaur towel.

"I don't want to be poor, daddy." Caden leaned back on the bed as Serena lifted the covers so he could climb in.

"Don't worry. Thankfully, mommy gives me lots of stuff to write about." Dan laughed as he and Serena tucked Caden in. "Good night dinosaur boy."

"Night daddy. Night momma."

Serena leaned in and kissed Caden on the cheek. "Good night baby. Love you."

"Love you too."

They walked back to their room, Dan's hand wrapped around her waist the entire time. As soon as the door shut, Dan turned to Serena, a smirk on his face.

"So do I get my present now?"

"You bet. But you have to put on this blindfold before you get anything." Serena held up a black blindfold, already starting to tie it around his eyes.

"But Serena.." He tried to grab for her, but she smacked his hands away.

"You don't get anything if you don't have patience baby." She whispered in his ear.

"Fine." He sat on the bed, arms crossed.

--

A few minutes later Serena emerged wearing a silk bathrobe. Dan had followed her instructions and was now sitting in a chair clad in only boxer briefs.

"Ready for your present? You can take off your blindfold" Serena asked in a sultry voice. She dropped the bathrobe at the same time he removed his blindfold. She heard the intake of breath from Dan and smirked. She was wearing only a skimpy red lingerie topped with a Santa hat and in her left hand was a bull whip. "Merry Christmas."

Serena walked towards him, her brown leather whip trailing dangerously. "So tell me..have you been a good boy?" She kissed him behind his ear, causing him to shudder. "Or a naughty boy?"

"Both." He gasped, smiling as she held up the whip threateningly. "I say both."

"Both? Then I have presents for both."

His eyes skimmed over her scantily clad figure appreciatively. He pulled her closer, ignoring the light cracking noise the whip made as she snapped it in the air. "Do I get them now?"

"Well...naughty boy Dan gets a little kissing " She traced his bare collarbone with the whip. "Good boy Dan gets a little surprise."

"Serena.." He drew her name out in a breathless whisper. "Tell me..or better yet...show me."

She pushed him back onto the bed as he grasped her shoulders so she went down with him. She smashed her mouth to his, all thoughts of his other present put aside. "_Serena_.." He said again, shuddering. She ignored him and pressed her lips to his throat.

He reached out to grab her but she smacked his hand away. "Be glad I didn't use the whip." She said before pushing his hand off to the side. She kissed a line down his chest, kissing each ridge of his abdominal six pack.

"I like the whip tho-" He managed to say before her lips were back on his, shutting him up. She felt his hands undo her bra and she ripped her mouth from his.

"What did I say about being impatient?" She glared at him, reaching for the whip.

"I'm sorry baby. You just looked..." Dan smiled bashfully, before reaching up to kiss her. "I really am sorry."

"Good." Without another word, she pushed him back down, her chest brushing against his. He groaned as she rolled off of him and snuggled into his side. "That's what you get for being impatient. Besides, you're gonna get your second present now."

"Alright." Dan kissed the top of her forehead as she readjusted the hat. "Will it top the bad boy present?" He laughed.

"Good boy Dan gets" She took his hand, her thumb tracing circles over it and placed it on her stomach. "a new baby."

Dan's eyes widened. "What?" He asked breathlessly. "You - we - baby?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Big thanks to Leighton for helping me when I was complaining...err I mean working on it lol.**

Serena's eyes closed, hand dropping and tears forming in her eyes. "You're mad." She said simply. "I sort of knew that this was going to happen, but I was hoping you'd be happy even though I don't remember. I'm so sorry, I don't know -"

"Serena," He said her name lightly. He lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "I'm not mad. In fact, I don't think I can be happier." He smiled before kissing her softly. He pulled away laughing as the small furry thing on her Santa hat tickled him.

"So you're not mad that I don't, you know, remember?" She asked him, slipping her arms around his neck.

"No, I mean I wish you would remember everything, but there's progress and most importantly we're together and I love you. That's what matters the most right now."

Serena could only play with his hair as what he just said sunk in. "Really?"

Dan smiled, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. "Really. You just made me the happiest person in the world, Serena. You know I love Caden to pieces, but another baby is just amazing. I love you so much."

Serena blushed, taking his hand and setting it on her stomach. "Even when I'm big and moody?"

"When you were pregnant with Caden, every day, you would get mad at me for something. To be honest, it scared the crap out of me, but every day at night, we would get in bed and then, you'd look at me and tell me you love me and somehow everything became more bearable. I love you and that means every bit of you. Whether you're throwing stuff at me or you're kissing me, I love you."

"I threw stuff at you?" Serena asked, incredulous.

"How about I tell you all the things that you did to me when you were mad?" Dan offered, pulling the comforter up. "Although that outfit would go to a waste. You look really...just wow."

Serena cheeks flushed even more red as she shrank under the comforter. "Thank you. I really wanted Christmas to be something special this year since ... you know. Honestly Dan, there's nothing more than I want than to be _with _you tonight, but I really want to hear about me, as conceited as that sounds."

"No, no its fine." He reassured her, smiling as he took her hand. "I want to lay here with you, even if I am sex deprived, because its _you_."

"You are way too sweet for you own good. Its like you're something out of a movie. Good looking, sexy, sweet, fantastic in bed, how did I ever find you?"

"Luck?" Dan laughed, rolling over onto his side, propped up by his elbow. "So which story do you want to hear first? Or would you rather hear them in order?"

"In order." Serena smiled, as Dan leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. "You know, I feel like I'm five and I'm in bed and my nanny's about to read me a story. Except my nanny wasn't hot, or male, like you." She giggled, hand clasped over her mouth to stop her rambling.

"I think you've been spending too much time with me," Dan laughed. "I hope Caden doesn't start rambling too."

"Maybe I have been spending too much time with you," Serena teased, grinning at Dan. "I should go stay at someone else's place. Like I don't know, maybe Nate?"

Dan rolled his eyes as he tugged her closer to him. "No way. You're mine. You always will be, whether you like it or not." He captured her lips with his, before leaning down and kissing her stomach.

Serena yawned, her face pressing into Dan's neck. "Maybe we should leave that story for tomorrow."

"You expect me to sleep next to you when you're dressed like that?" Dan teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes I do. Now shush, your pregnant wife is sleepy." Serena laughed, pressing a kiss to his jaw. "I love you Dan. More than you'll ever understand."

"I love you too. Get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow."

He watched as her eyes closed while he reached over and switched the lights off. He felt her relax and her hold on him loosen. He dived into his own canopy of memories while he too fell asleep.

_--Flashback--_

_Dan sat on the cream colored couch, reading one of the magazines one of them had left on the coffee table. Serena had gone to the bathroom a few minutes ago and he was bored, just sitting there by himself. _

"_Daniel Humphrey." He heard a voice growl and quickly turned around. Standing in front of him was a six month pregnant Serena clutching an empty cardboard cylinder, the ones that are in the middle of toilet paper._

"_Yes b-baby?" He stuttered, wondering what exactly she was going to do now._

"_I don't know if you know this, but I'm carrying your child. Would it kill you to change the toilet paper when you use it all up?" She threw the roll at him, hitting him on the top of the head._

"_Ow." Dan muttered, rubbing the top of his head. "Baby, Serena, love. I think it was either Chuck or Nate. Remember? They came over earlier today."_

"_Does it look like I care who used it all? My bladder is a pain in the ass and if you can't even change a goddamned toilet paper roll then why the hell did I marry you!?" _

_Dan winced at the cruel, unpremeditated words. "I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise. How about we have some ice cream?" _

_Serena's face softened and for a second Dan thought she was going to agree, but then she erupted in tears. "I'm so sorry." She sobbed, collapsing into his arms. "I'm so mean to you when you don't even do anything. I'm such a horrible wife."_

"_No, no you aren't." Dan stroked her back as she cried into his chest, the tears never seeming to end. "You're just pregnant."_

_Serena recoiled immediately, tears halting. "Are you calling me fat!?" _

"_No of course not." Dan said, ducking as she grabbed the magazine he was reading and threw it __at his head. "I was just saying that -"_

_He was cut off as another magazine flew towards him. "Serena! I'm sorry okay?" He looked at her warily as she dropped the magazine she was holding and stalked out of the room. Dan strode over and picked up the many fallen magazines and setting them back on the coffee table._

_The next day..._

_Serena opened the freezing, looking for her daily dose of Rocky Road Ice Cream. She took out the carton and set it on the kitchen table, prying the lid open. She frowned at the empty carton wondering why the hell someone ate all her ice cream. _

"_Dan.." She growled to herself, picking up the empty carton angrily and stomping over to the living room where he was watching Sunday morning Bugs Bunny. _

"_Hey baby, did you find the ice cream?" Dan asked absently, hearing her approach. _

"_I sure did." Serena said sweetly. She jammed the empty carton on his head, making sure the leftover bits of chocolate got into his hair. "We're out of ice cream by the way. Someone ate it all."_

_She strolled off to the only bathroom they had, slamming the door closed and hearing Dan groan._

"_Serena, come on! It won't come off!" _

"_Hmm, maybe you shouldn't have eaten all the damn ice cream then!"_

"_I just..Nate..hungry..I'm sorry. I'll go out and buy more!"_

"_Okay, I'm giving you to count of ten to get out of this apartment to go buy more." Serena's voice rang from the bathroom._

"_Serena, I have this THING stuck on my head!" _

"_And I care because?"_

"_Because you don't want me to get killed by traffic and run into things?"_

"_Well since you ate all my damn ice cream, sure why not?"_

"_Serena please." His exasperated voice came, echoing and Serena felt the tiniest bit bad. _

"_Sorry." She replied curtly, before stepping into the shower, the water muffling his pleas. _

_Later..._

"_Hey baby."_

_Dan turned sharply at the sound of Serena's voice, body stiffening. "Hey," He said cautiously. _

_Serena walked over and sat down next to him, holding his hand. "I'm sorry about earlier. You know me and my ice cream."_

"_Okay, I forgive you." He said hesitantly, searching her face for any sign of anger from the previous incident. "So, what's up?"_

"_I just wanted to make it up to you," Serena grinned devilishly, kissing him on the cheek. _

_Dan smiled, all nervousness fading away. "Okay darling. What did you have in mind?" He wrapped his arms around her waist as she settled on his lap. _

"_Well I was thinking we could.. you know." She slammed her lips to his, kissing him fiercely as his hands ran themselves through her hair. _

"_What brought this on?" Dan mumbled, kissing her feverishly. _

"_Guilt." Serena laughed, trying to push herself against Dan, but failing due to her bump. _

"_Right." Dan pushed her down onto the couch, lips never leaving contact with her skin. "Well I forgive you, if this is your way of apologizing."_

_Serena pulled away abruptly. "Who said anything about apologizing?" Before he could reply, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him roughly. _

"_But I thought.." He trailed off as she pulled away from him again. _

"_Well you thought wrong. Now shut up." She kissed him again, nails sinking into his shoulders. _

"_Ow." Dan whimpered, the feeling of her nails making him shiver involuntarily._

_The rest of their clothes fell away with their kisses, each kiss growing hotter and longer. "Serena..I"_

"_What part of shut up do you not understand?" She growled, glaring at him. "You're ruining the mood."_

"_Serena.." He trailed off, watching her stand up and walk away, leaving him there. "What are you doing?"_

"_I'll see you later Dan." She blew a kiss at him, slipping on a yellow sundress. _

"_Dammit." _


	16. Chapter 16

"Caden, we have a surprise for you." Dan said, getting the boy's attention.

"What is it!?" Caden abandoned his toy on the ground and sprang up in front of Dan, thrilled for something new.

"Well, mommy told me last night that we forgot to give you a present. In fact, she didn't even tell me about it." Dan smiled at Serena, rubbing his thumb over her hand softly. "You know how you wanted a baby sister, Caden?"

"Yeah?"

Dan leaned forward, as if sharing some secret. "Well, that might just come true. Mommy's having another baby."

"Cool!" Caden leaned forward and spontaneously kissed Serena's cheek. "Is it in your tummy?" His green eyes flickered to her stomach before returning back up to look at her.

"Yup, but the baby's very small so you can't feel the little nudger, but pretty soon I'll have a big bump and be fat."

"You won't be fat momma, you just have a baby growing in your tummy." Caden corrected her, giggling as Dan picked him up.

"That's what I told mommy when she was pregnant with you, but she didn't listen." Dan laughed, swinging Caden around. "Your hair's turning brown."

"What?"

"His hair." Dan set Caden down so Serena could see the brown roots. "It's turning brown like mine."

"You're going to look so much like daddy." Serena mused, setting Caden in her lap. "You're growing up so fast, baby boy."

"I'm a big boy now!" Caden jammed a thumb in his chest, grinning. "Uncle Chuck says that once I'm a big boy, I can do big boy stuff. Like go to places called 'Victola' and play big boy games."

"Chuck really needs to stop babysitting." Dan frowned, watching as Caden left Serena's lap to get a new toy. "Corrupting my kid at age five."

"Chuck isn't that bad..he's just...oh who am I kidding?"

Dan laughed, brushing her lips with his softly. "Exactly baby."

--

Serena giggled as Dan's arms slid around her waist, playing with her stomach. "Stop it, you." She whispered, phone still ringing.

"Hey mom, can you and Rufus come over again?"

Caden padded over and tugged on Dan's pant leg. "Daddy will you make me a sandwich?"

"Sure buddy, come on. We'll make lunch while mommy finishes talking to grandma, okay?"

"Can I help?" Caden asked excitedly, smiling up at Dan.

"You bet." Dan led Caden to the kitchen, setting him up on the counter. "What should we make today?"

"Umm...can we make macaroni?"

"Whatever you want, Caden." Dan pulled out a box of macaroni noodles and set them on the counter. "What else do we need?"

"Cheese! Lots of cheese!"

"I can't believe I forgot!" Dan smacked his forehead, pulling cheese out of the refridgerator.

"You're so silly daddy." Caden giggled.

Within five minutes they had the water boiling and the macaroni floating in the hot water. Caden sat a safe distance from the pot, separating and 'taste-testing' the cheese.

"Look at my two boys cooking." Serena kissed the top of Caden's head, picking up some cheese and tossing it nonchalantly into her mouth.

"Boys?" A hint of mock disgust crept into his voice as she rolled her eyes. "We're men, aren't we Caden? We're rough and tough men!"

"Yeah!" Dan highfived Caden, laughing.

"Well Caden is always going to be my baby boy and little boys get hugs." She stuck her tongue out playfully at Dan, hugging Caden.

"Momma, I'm a man! Not a little boy!" Caden's irritated voice made both Dan and Serena laugh.

"Well he is definitely your son."

Dan rolled his eyes and brushed off the remark, taking the pot of macaroni off the stove and draining it in a colander. "He must be, where else would he get those good looks?"

Serena giggled, wrapping her arms around Dan's waist. "Rufus and mom are coming over for lunch, by the way."

"Hear that, buddy? We get to cook for grandpa and grandma too!"

--

"So what was the big news that you needed to tell us?" Rufus smiled at Serena across the table.

"Momma! Can I tell grandpa!?" Caden asked excitedly, putting his fork down with a clatter.

"Go ahead." Serena smiled at the little boy, ruffling his hair.

"Momma has a baby in her tummy! And my hair's turning brown!" Caden said proudly.

"Congratulations!" Lily stood up and hugged Serena tightly.

"I can't believe I'm a grandfather this young." Rufus muttered, hugging Dan as well.

"You're not that young dad." Dan laughed, picking up Caden so he wouldn't be left out. "Look at Caden's hair, isn't that weird? Serena says he's going to look just like me."

"He already does! Just with blonde hair...and green eyes."

Dan laughed, putting Caden down. "Buddy, why don't you go and show grandpa all your presents, especially what you did to the guitar."

--

"Okay, so Blair, Nate, Vanessa, Jenny and Chuck know." Dan announced, sitting down next to Serena and Caden. "Chuck says that if its a boy, to name him after him."

"I really hope you refused." Serena laughed, blushing when Dan took her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

"EW!!" Caden jumped off the couch. "Stop kissing!!!"

"But then what else would mommy and daddy do in their spare time?"

"I'm gonna go play basketball." Caden sighed, leaving the room.

"Shouldn't you be finishing your reading log? School starts next week." Dan called to him and Caden appeared in the doorway.

"Do I have to, daddy? Its so boring. I have to read easy books." Caden groaned.

"Hope about you read to me and momma? Then it won't be boring." Dan said in a either-way-you're-reading tone.

"Okay." Caden padded upstairs to get his books.

"You're such a good daddy." Serena whispered from behind, placing a kiss on his neck.

"It helps that he's such a good kid." Dan smiled, setting his hands on her hips and leaning forehead to press his lips against hers.

"Mmm...Dan...Caden." Serena managed between kisses.

"He'll take a while. He has a lot of books to go through." Dan whispered, his tongue on her neck making her gasp and clutch his shoulders. "Ow..you really need to get rid of those nails."

"Shut up." She giggled, pulling him down so that she was straddling his hips. "I'll get rid of my nails when you finally let me do things my way."

"But my way is so much more fun." Dan protested feebly as her fingers tickled his stomach, making him catch his breath.

"Whatever you say Daniel."

"You're no fun." Dan pouted, his shirt already unbuttoned.

"Actually I like to think I'm very fun, don't you?" She replied, digging her hips into his earning a groan.

"Momma..what are you doing to daddy?"

Serena clambered off of him quickly, her cheeks a furious red. "Daddy....had an itch on his stomach and mommy was helping him scratch it."

"Okay, but Uncle Chuck says when people do that they're kissing and doing stuff."

"Uncle Chuck is lying." Dan sat up, shirt rebuttoned. "Now what book did you get?"

--

**So this is another short chapter, sorry for that. I promise to get the plot up and moving in the next. The reason why this is short is because I wanted to post this before Christmas and announce this contest thing I'm doing. Not my idea, its my friend's, so yeah. Basically she went into my room, said that I have too much of my writing crap laying around so why not give it away to people who read my stories. Its actually not crap like she says it is, its a lot of handwritten stuff, original versions and ideas that never really took off. So if you guys want any, here's what you have to do. Write a Dan and Serena story involving Cedric, scarves and umbrellas. They have to have those three things. OR make a Dan and Serena video to the song 'Vegas Skies' by The Cab. **** I'll choose my favorites and yeah. Deadline is January 16th, 2009**** For more details, check out my profile.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

5 months later....

Serena groaned, sipping her glass of orange juice as Dan massaged her shoulders. "Dan. I hate you."

"What? What'd I do?" He asked, alarmed as the rest of the people in the room tried to hold back their laughs.

"You got me pregnant and now the baby won't stop kicking. You and your stupid soccer genes." She glared at him until he resumed massaging. "I haven't been able to get _any _sleep."

Chuck smirked at the two. "I bet you two stay up _all _night long."

"Doing what, Uncle Chuck?" Caden popped up, holding a sandwich.

"Listening to the baby kick!" Blair muttered hastily, slapping Chuck on the arm.

"Caden, baby, who made you that sandwich?" Serena asked, ruffling his hair.

"Uncle Nate."

"Okay, baby, cover your ears." Serena bit her lip until Caden obediently put his hands over his ears. "Nathaniel Archibald! Your ass better be making me a sandwich too!"

"Never get me pregnant." Blair muttered to Chuck as they stood. "I'd hate to desert you, S, but we have the opera."

"We'd be happy to miss the opera and stay here though." Chuck tried to sit down, but Blair pulled a handful of his hair. "Ow..okay. Bye."

"Bye Blair. Chuck." Serena waved from her position on the couch.

"Bye Uncle Chuck, Auntie Blair." Caden hugged their legs and sat back down as Nate came in, disgruntled.

"Hey, Blair, can I talk to you for a second? In the kitchen?" Nate asked, almost dropping the tray of food.

"Nate, _Chuck _and I are going to be late."

"Please, just for a minute." Sighing, Blair followed him into the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Dan whispered to Serena, who was happily munching on her turkey sandwich.

"Don't know." She swallowed and turned to Caden. "Want to play spy?"

"Yeah!"

"Go into the kitchen and go see what Uncle Nate and Auntie Blair are doing, but you have to be really quiet."

"Okay momma!" Caden jumped off of the couch and ran into the kitchen. He ducked under the counter and what he saw will stay with him for the rest of his life.

"Uncle Nate!!! Why are kissing Auntie Blair!?!!" The five year old yelled, horrified.

"What?" Dan stopped what he was doing and ran into the kitchen, Chuck and Vanessa on his tails. "Caden, are you okay?"

"Auntie Blair...she was kissing Uncle Nate!!!!!"

Dan took one look at Chuck and Vanessa's face and quickly escorted Caden out of the room. "What the hell Blair?!" Dan winced at Chuck's roar and quickly told Caden to go up to his room.

Chuck punched the wall, his hand sinking into the drywall with a sickening crack and stepped towards Nate, but somehow Vanessa already got there, slapping him across his cheek. "I'm leaving."

"Vanessa no, come on. Ple-" He never got to finish his sentence as Chuck tackled him to the ground, knocking over several bar stools in the process.

"Chuck! Stop!" Blair tried to pull him off Nate and failed miserably.

His dark brown eyes narrowed as he looked up at her. "Don't talk to me, you-" Nate's fist connected with his jaw, slamming his head back.

Chuck staggered up, pulling Nate with him and slammed him into the wall. "You son of a bitch. How could you sle-"

"Hey Chuck, did you hear?" Nate taunted, blue eyes wild. "Blair's pregnant and guess what? Its my kid."

Out of nowhere, Dan shot out, punching one after another in the chin. As expected, they both sank to the floor, out cold. "Blair, are you okay?" He asked, going over to the refrigerator and pulling out an ice pack for his hand.

"Not really." Blair admitted, tears streaming down her face.

"Maybe you should go up to one of the guest rooms and lay down." Dan offered gently, hissing as the ice contacted with his knuckles.

She nodded and left without another word. Dan looked from the two unconscious men to the hole in his wall and sighed, making his way back into the living room. He sank down next to Serena and smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Our lives are so complicated." Dan muttered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What?" She pulled away, looking surprised. "Dan, what happened to your hand?"

"Did you hear anything that just went on Serena?"

"I was eating."

--

"So who wants to explain first?" Dan glared at the two sitting at his dining room table. "Blair? Nate?"

"There's nothing to explain, Dan." Nate grumbled, holding the ice pack to his jaw. "Chuck can really pack a punch."

"So, why were you cheating on Vanessa?" Dan continued speaking as if he hadn't heard what Nate just said.

"Blair...she... I don't know." Nate stammered, looking away. "Can I please go?"

"No." He turned to Blair, who was nervously playing with her nails. "Blair...why did you cheat on Chuck?"

"Well Humphrey," She smiled sweetly at him. "I would tell you if you hadn't fucking handcuffed me to the goddamned oven!"

"Well until you can tell me, you're not going anywhere." Dan said decisively, crossing his arms.

"Why the hell do you have handcuffs anyway, man?" Nate muttered, trying to pick at the lock.

"None of your business Nate!" Serena yelled from the living room, making Dan blush.

"Okay, fine." He unlocked the handcuffs. "But really, you guys hurt Chuck and Vanessa. You have to go and apologize."

"We're not five, Humphrey." Blair muttered, rubbing her wrist.

"My son is. Imagine what went through his head when he saw you two." Dan shook his head, disgusted. "Not only do you have to apologize to them, you have to make it up to Caden."

"Dan! Where the hell is my pizza!?"

He groaned, leaving Blair and Nate to run out the door while he tended to Serena. "Its coming sweetheart." He sat down next to her, kissing the side of her head. "Do you want to come upstairs with me to talk to Caden? He was pretty upset earlier."

"How am I supposed to get up the stairs?" Serena grumbled, arms crossed against her chest.

"I'll help you." Dan said, pulling her up gently.

"I feel like a whale. I don't know how you can love me after what I've been doing..for the second time around."

"You are beautiful." Dan emphasized each word with a kiss on her lips. "I put up with this _because _I love you and our baby. You're too damn cute to get mad at anyway."

"Aww..look." She cooed as he helped her up the stairs. "You're making up shit again."

"Darling..I'm not..never mind." Dan shook his head, finally getting her up the second floor and knocked on Caden's door before opening it.

"Hey sweetie." Serena padded in, sitting next to him on the bed. "Whatcha doing?"

"Coloring." Caden muttered, picking up a blue crayon. "Why did Uncle Nate kiss Auntie Blair?"

"Because...." Serena trailed off, looking to Dan, who was standing in the doorway.

"Because, well I don't know. That's something they have to figure out."

"Doesn't Auntie Blair love Uncle Chuck?"

"Caden.." Serena kissed the top of his head. "sometimes feelings change and people don't love each other anymore."

"And sometimes, feelings stay the same when you find the one you want to be with for the rest of your life." Dan smiled as Serena looked up at him.

"That's you and daddy, right momma?"

"Yeah...daddy and I have been in love for so long and its just so amazing."

"It'll be better when you remember everything, right?"

"Yeah," Serena murmured softly, kissing the top of Caden's head. "Its almost dinner time, want to help me and daddy cook?"

"No thanks momma. I wanna finish my picture so I can give it to Uncle Chuck."

"Do we get to see?" Dan chuckled, sliding his arm around Serena's shoulders.

"When I finish it!"

"Alright, you finish your drawing. Come on Serena." Dan helped her up, smiling at her.

She lead him out of the room and slowly downstairs. "I can't believe that Nate and Blair are.."

"Yeah," Dan nodded, following her into the kitchen. "I thought they were through."

"I guess I'll have to talk to her soon."

"I don't have to be around, do I?"

"What?" Serena laughed as he pulled out orange juice from the refrigerator.

"Well last time you were pregnant, I eavesdropped just a little and I think I got scarred for life." Dan laughed, handing her a glass. "You started talking about..."

She no longer heard what he was talking about as her brain sent her back a couple years, to the exact time Dan was talking about.

"_I can't believe you're pregnant with..Cabba- Dan's kid." Blair wrinkled her nose, taking a sip of her smoothie._

"_I'm just surprised I didn't get pregnant sooner." Serena giggled, rubbing her bump. "The things he does in bed..."_

"_Do I want to hear this?"_

"_Shut up Blair. You talked about Chuck for about ten minutes and then you compared him to Nate! I think I have a right to talk about my husband and what he does to me." Serena giggled again, her mind no doubt filled with her and Dan's adventures at night._

"_Just don't expect me to pay attention." Blair rolled her eyes, laughing slightly._

"_Chuck should come listen, pick up some pointers." Serena replied smugly, placing her lips on her straw before saying any more. "Or maybe Nate. They should also hear your comparison."_

"_There is no way Humphrey could be better than Nate and Chuck in anything." Blair retorted defensively._

"_Well I slept with Nate, remember? Dan could be better handcuffed."_

"_That's probably what you two do." Blair snorted._

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" Serena laughed as Blair stuck out her tongue playfully. "I'm just saying, Dan is just fantastically amazing at sex."_

"_And I'm saying that my ears are bleeding." Blair rolled her eyes as Serena leaned into whisper something._

"_Last night...twelve times."_

"Serena?" Dan asked softly, not wanting to disturb her because she was pregnant and got mad easily and also because she could have been in the middle of a memory.

"Yeah..sorry. I just got caught up." She smiled, kissing him on the lips softly. "Why didn't you tell me you could go twelve times?"

Dan turned a color that could only be described as scarlet red as he quickly turned and stuck the juice back in the refrigerator. "Serena... we're kinda supposed to be making dinner. Aren't you hungry?"

"For dinner? Not yet." She smirked at him as she walked over to him, tugging on his belt loops. "For you? Definitely."

"Serena..dinner."

"Dan..don't care." She mimicked his tone as she undid the buttons on his shirt.

"Caden." He breathed, hands gripping the counter as she slapped a hand to his thigh.

"Upstairs." She smirked, pushing his open shirt aside and pressing her lips to his chest.

"I...Chuck!" Dan's eyes widened at the sight of his friend, standing by the back door, rubbing his eyes.

"Not here." Serena murmured, letting her tongue flick against his nipple.

"Serena..Chuck!" He hissed, pushing her away gently and buttoning his shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"Well _Hump_hreys, didn't know you enjoyed living up to your name." Chuck smirked, only a hint of red remaining around his eyes.

A sudden pull on Dan's shirt made him stop what was on its way of coming out of his mouth. "Daniel Humphrey..you did not just do that." Serena growled, much to the amusement of Chuck.

"Serena..please." Dan looked from her to Chuck, trying to decide what to do. "If you're going to murder me, you don't want to do in front of Chuck. He's a witness."

"I just came to see Caden." Chuck held up his hands defensively as Serena turned her glare on him. He quickly made his way out of the kitchen as if running for his life.

"Thanks a lot Basshole." Dan muttered as Serena gripped him tighter. "Ow..Serena baby. You're hurting me."

"Good, I hope you know you're in a hell of a lot of trouble." She smiled sweetly at him, hand moving down to smack his ass quickly.

"Serena...Chuck was standing right ther-" Dan protested weakly as she slammed him into the stainless steel refrigerator. "Ow."

"Shut up. You are going to ravish me, right now."

"Now?" Dan gulped, glancing at the clock.

"Now." Serena giggled, dragging him into the game room, containing the pool table.

"Serena..maybe this isn't the best idea. What if Chuck or Caden comes in?" Dan muttered nervously as she silenced him with a kiss.

"That's why locks were made." She watched as his brown eyes flickered to her stomach then to the pool table.

"Serena...we have to make dinn-"

"You think I'm fat." Serena wailed, tears springing up as she pushed him away.

"No baby I don't think you're fat..I just-"

"I'm pregnant because of _you_!" She jabbed her index finger into his bare chest, stabbing him. "And now you think I'm too fat for pool table sex!"

"Serena," He leaned down and kissed her gently amidst the tears. "I don't think you're fat. You're beautiful."

"I love you." Serena murmured, hugging him the best she could with her bump. "I'm sorry."

"Its okay," Dan whispered, capturing her lips again. "You know, if you still want to.."

"Humphrey!"

Dan groaned, hearing Chuck's yell. He brushed his lips against Serena's, resisting the urge to hoist her up onto the pool table right now. "Later." He promised, kissing her again.

"Okay. Go deal with Chuck. I'm gonna relax here." She murmured, not temperamental for once.

"I can't wait till you remember. We had a lot of great memories in this room." Dan smiled, buttoning up his shirt. He headed out of the room, jogging upstairs to check on Caden and 'Uncle Chuck'.

Serena smiled to herself, running a hand over the green felt of the poker table. She sat down at one of the chairs, letting another memory overwhelm her.

"_So you're bad at pool, but you're good at poker?" Dan asked, as she took all the chips from the middle. They were winding down from a long day and decided to play poker._

"_What's your point?" She giggled, sticking out her tongue._

"_Well they both have green felt, so I don't see how you could be bad at one and good at another." Dan laughed, dealing her two cards, facing up._

"_Blackjack?"_

"_Yup, but we're raising the stakes." He grinned, handing her a pad of white paper._

"_Oh really?" She looked at her cards, ten and four, and scribbled something on the piece of paper. "Hit."_

_Dan slapped a card down, smile fading when he saw it was a 7._

"_Blackjack. What do you have, Humphrey?"  
_

_He rolled his eyes, flipped his other card over, revealing 20. "Almost. What'd you bet?" Dan took the pad from her, snorting when he read what was on it. "Slave for all eternity? Seriously, Serena?"_

"_Hey lover boy, you lost fair and square." Serena giggled, walking over and sitting in his lap. "I was going to double down, so consider yourself lucky."_

"_Yes, I think I am very lucky." Dan grinned as Serena leaned forward, kissing him gently. "So what do I have to do?"_

"_Well you can start by helping me christen our new pool table and then this table." She bit her lip before crashing their lips together again. _

_He laughed as she wrapped her legs around his hips tightly, letting him carry her over to the pool table. "You know, slave for all eternity doesn't sound so bad anymore." _

_She giggled as his nose brushed against her chest. "Weren't you complaining about it just a second ago?"_

_"That was when I didn't know what it would entail." Dan smiled, planting kisses on Serena's stomach as he got his tuxedo shirt off of her. _

"_Dan," Serena gasped, breathless._

"_Yes darling?" He paused, looking up innocently at her._

"_Don't stop."_

_A devilish grin spread across Dan's face. "Of course. Feel free to whip me if I don't behave."_

"_Don't have a whip. Although I might smack you if you don't shut up." Serena giggled, wiggling out of her sweat pants._

"_I love you, Serena." Dan whispered, kissing her nose. "Too much for words."_

"_I love you too." She smiled up at him, clasping his arms. "You're the most perfect husband. Ever." _

_He paused, stroking her cheek gently. He brought his lips down carefully, kissing her gently, trying to let her feel all that he was feeling when she said those words. "You're my forever. You always will be."_


	18. Chapter 18

"Chuck, you yelled?" Dan muttered, watching Chuck recline on the couch with Caden.

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask you where you kept the scotch, but Caden found lemonade." He looked over Dan's disheveled state, smirking. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

Dan rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Pregnant women are more demanding than they look."

"Wasn't it just five months ago that you were incredibly happy, and holding back her hair for her when she puked?"

"She wasn't emotional and horny then." Dan protested, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Caden's lap.

"Daddy, what's horny? Does it mean that momma has horns?"

"And you say I corrupt him." Chuck snorted, drinking more lemonade.

Dan glared at Chuck before turning to Caden. "Well it means that momma really likes the great horn owl. We were just talking about them." Caden nodded, turning back to the television.

"So Serena's still down there? Waiting to kill you?"

"If you want to put it that way, sure." Dan rolled his eyes, taking a swig of Caden's lemonade. "So how are you holding up?"

"Don't want to talk about it." Chuck grunted, not looking at Dan.

"Alright, fine. I'm going to go, er..bring Serena out." Dan muttered, shuffling back to the game room.

"Take as long as you like. Get it out of your system so Little C here doesn't have to have therapy later."

"Uncle Chuck, what's therapy?"

--

"Hey Serena, Caden wants to know whether or not his momma will play with him." It was nightfall already and Dan had dinner simmering on the stove. Serena was laying on the couch, messy blonde hair covered by a large magazine.

"Doesn't Caden know momma has to carry around forty pounds of his new sister?" She giggled as he took the magazine off her head, kissing her gently.

"That doesn't mean you can't play with him." He pointed out, laughing as she poked him in the side.

"Ticklish?" She asked as if she didn't know where all his tickle spots were.

"Just a little bit." She poked him again, earning another laugh. "Okay a little bit more."

"Good." She kissed his cheek, leaning into his side. "So where's my baby boy?"

"Right here, momma!" Caden jumped up from behind the love seat, wearing Chuck's scarf over his clothes.

"Are you going to wear that to school tomorrow?" Serena giggled, slightly giddy from just being around Dan.

"I can? Cool momma!" He hugged her spontaneously before running upstairs.

"I...I thought he wanted me to play with him."

"I lied." Dan grinned at her, kissing her lightly. "I just kinda wanted a kiss."

"You could've kissed me while I was asleep." Serena grumbled, tugging her blanket over her legs.

"I'm sorry babe." He stroked her cheek as she lay her head on the pillow he had just propped up. "Want me to kiss you better?"

"No." She turned away from him as best she could, pretending to be angry.

"Aww..Serena, come on." He put a hand on her arm, sending shivers down her spine. She was too tired to fight him and gave in as he started coaxing her to face him.

"Hi." She smiled up at him, reciprocating when he kissed her.

"Hey pretty girl." He pressed his lips to hers once more, already hearing the pitter patter of small feet coming down to interrupt them.

"Daddy, the oven's beeping!"

Dan smiled, shaking his head as he got up to check on the lamb. "Thanks Caden. You just saved dinner. Wanna make mommy get up so we can have dinner at the table?"

"No, Caden, don't you want to watch TV and eat dinner at the same time?"

"I like my dinosaur placemat."

"Fine." Serena rolled her eyes, letting Dan pull her up.

"Thanks Serena."

"Yeah thanks momma!"

--

Dan typed in 'amnesia' on the search engine, praying that Serena would take longer putting Caden to bed. Her movements sure hadn't slowed with the pregnancy, he was sure of that.

He had only clicked on the first hit that came up when Serena entered the room, unusually quiet, plopping herself on the bed. "Hey."

"Hey," He answered, flicking the top of his laptop closed. "Tired?"

"Very much."

"Massage?"

"Yes please."

Dan smiled, sitting on the bed, picking up her feet into his lap. He began rubbing her feet gently, feeling her relax. "Hey Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"Its been a while hasn't it?" He asked quietly, not wanting her to tense up.

"Since what?"

"Since," Dan paused, watching as she struggled to sit up. "you woke up."

"Dan, what are you talking about?" She huffed, propping herself up on a pillow. "I woke up this morning and before dinner."

"No I meant," He sighed, taking her hand and absently rubbing circles with his thumb. "Since you woke up from the coma."

"Oh." Serena watched him look down, trying not to look at her. Was it too hard for him, not knowing if she would ever remember him fully? "Dan, I.."

"No, just forget I said anything." He muttered, disappointed at both himself and her. "You seem to be good at that." The words slipped out, causing both of their eyes to widen.

She stared at him, shocked that he would say that. She sucked in a breath, turning away from him and sliding under the comforter with surprising ease. "Go to hell Dan."

"Serena, come on. I didn't mean it like that." He wrapped an arm around her waist, trying to soothe her.

"We've had this fight again and again, Dan! I'm tired of this and I really wish you'd just understand." She muttered, tugging the sheets closer to her body.

"I do. I just...its hard for me okay?" He whispered, head falling back onto his pillow. "I miss you remember so much. I hated you not knowing me, not recognizing that I was the one you spent every night with. The one you, for some reason, fell in love with."

She finally turned, her figure shifting awkwardly. Staring at him with her dark green eyes, she realized he felt as bad as he made her feel. "I fell in love with you because you are the most amazing person." A smile crossed her face as he kissed her forehead. "Even if you do make stupid mistakes sometimes."

"I make mistakes because I don't deserve you." He stroked her cheek, kissing her on the lips this time. "I am an idiot when I'm around you."

"No you're not." She grinned, running a hand down his arm. "You are a sexy, intelligent man Mr. Humphrey."

"Stop." He chided, kissing her hand in an elegant move. Her thumb went up and traced his lip, earning a grin. "Tell me something."

"Anything."

"Do you like remembering?" He gazed at her intently, memorizing every thing she did in this moment.

"More than anything."

Dan smiled down at her, one hand rubbing her stomach lightly. "I want to tell you a story, will you try and stay awake?"

Serena giggled, receiving another kiss. "Of course."

"I realized today that you remember all the good things about our relationship, and you haven't remembered a single bad thing. I know that it should be a good thing, but I can't shake the thought that maybe if we talked about, um, the bad things, you'd remember more. Is that okay?" He rambled on nervously, still having not gotten rid of that habit. In a way, it made him sexier.

She nodded, not sure of what was in store for her. "Go ahead."

"A couple months after we got married," He spoke softly, somewhat urgently. "you kicked me out of our apartment with me begging for you not to do it. You called me a cheating bastard and you said that you never wanted to see my face again." Though she had heard those words before, his soft voice made the curse words sound a thousand times worse. "Should I stop?"

"No." Serena's voice was a quiet whisper, barely audible. "Keep going."

"I think you were like a week pregnant from the honeymoon." Dan chuckled lowly, his fingers tickling her stomach. "It was actually kind of ridiculous, our fight. You smelled perfume on my shirt and you got really mad."

Her eyes narrowed mock angrily. "Why was there perfume on your shirt? Were you cheating on me?"

"Yeah, kinda like that. Except with more screaming." He laughed, brushing his lips against hers. "I went shopping for you at this store. They kinda grabbed me and squirted stuff at me. So I went home smelling like, um, Chanel and I didn't even find a perfume for you because I realized halfway, you don't need one to smell good to me."

Her lips curved into a crooked smile. "You're too sweet."

"Only being honest."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're the kind of person you can only find in romance novels? Just somehow sweeter and hotter."

Dan blushed, the pink tinge making even more attractive. "So you're saying I'm not real?"

"Too good to be real."

"I hope you're talking about yourself, I know I'm nowhere that good." He laughed, watching her roll her eyes. It was amazing how much she appealed to him, how much he was attracted to her. With her blonde hair sprawled around her messily, she looked even more like an angel.

"I'm never going to get to sleep 'cause of you." She chided, kissing him. "Our baby won't get any sleep either. Daddy should let us sleep, shouldn't he?"

"Baby needs to understand daddy wants to play with mommy."

"Caden does too." Serena giggled as he kissed her neck softly.

"Caden _does _interrupt too much. Its like the world is out to get us."

"Maybe its just our timing." She laughed as his head hit his pillow.

He watched her yawn, arms raising up slightly. "Good night sleepy."

"Night Danny."


	19. Chapter 19

"Dan?" The three of them were in the backyard, Caden playing basketball, Serena lying on a lawn chair and Dan trying to satisfy both.

"Yes sweetheart?" He sat down next to her, smiling as he put a hand on her stomach.

"Can you tell me a story?"

"About what?"

"You, me, Caden. Anything." She murmured lazily, eyes closing briefly.

"Okay, um," He licked his lips, trying to think of a tale to entertain her with. "How about I tell you about how we named Caden?"

"Okay."

"Well you had this damned baby book..."

"_What are we naming him?" Serena plopped on the bed, rubbing her swollen belly._

"_Her." He corrected, kissing her forehead. "It could be a girl."_

"_Its a boy Dan. I can feel it." She smiled, handing him the baby book. "Come on, choose a name."_

_He flicked through it, not really paying attention. "Eugene."  
_

_She turned to look at him, disbelief splattered across her face. "Daniel Humphrey, do you want our kid to get beat up at school?"_

"_No?" _

"_Then choose another name." _

_He sighed, turning the pages quickly. "How about Finn?"  
_

"_No."_

"_Why not?" He argued, smiling a little. "Its a good name."  
_

"_If you're a fish." She snatched the book out of his hands. "How about I choose his name?"_

_"But he's my son."_

"_You're not the one pushing him out sweetie." She patted him on the cheek before flipping to the 'A's. "How about Alber-"_

"_No."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him, already on the next page. "Alexander. Isn't that a great name?"_

"_So great that it can be some other kid's name."_

"_You don't like the name Alex?"_

"_Not since you dated that guy." Dan scowled, turning the page for her. _

"_I don't like these names." Serena moved to turn the page when Dan's finger was suddenly on the page._

"_There. I like that name. Ben."_

_"Ben van der Humphrey."  
_

"_How about just Ben Humphrey?" He laughed, kissing her cheek. _

"_Oh, look at this name. Can we make Ben his middle name? Please?" She pointed at the small lettering, her finger covering half of the name._

"_Move your finger, love." He laughed, reading the name. "Caden Benjamin Humphrey."_

_"Doesn't that sound cute?"_

"_Adorable. Too bad we're having a girl." His hand snuck onto her stomach, rubbing small circles._

"_You're a boy right, baby?" Serena whispered, giggling as the baby kicked. "See Dan, told you."_

"_Hey baby, your mommy's so silly." He pushed up the big t-shirt she was wearing and kissed her belly gently. "You're going to be the cutest baby ever and I bet you're gonna have mommy's appetite. Don't worry, daddy's a good cook."_

"_You're going to look just like daddy, Caden. You're going to have his brown eyes and his cute little brown hair."_

"_He's going to look like you." Dan whispered, looking up at her. "Remember? The doctor told us he's going to have green eyes."_

_"I know, but don't you think a mini-you would be adorable?" _

"_A baby girl who looks exactly like her momma would be cute too."_

"_We're having a boy, Dan. Time to get over it." She giggled as he leaned forward to kiss her._

"That's how you and momma named me?" Caden had dropped his basketball and was now sitting next to Serena, listening to Dan's story. He wrinkled his nose. "Why'd you want to name me Eugene?"

"Yeah, Dan. Why'd you want to name our son Eugene?" Serena joined in, giggling.

"Alright you two, that's enough." He laughed, removing his gray sweatshirt. "Anymore stories you want to hear?"

"Daddy, can you tell the one where Uncle Nate slipped on the banana peel?"

"Okay, we were hosting this barbecue..."

"_Dude, I brought you more of those fillet thingies. Remind me why we have these things." Nate set down the plate and cracked open a can of beer._

"_Serena." Dan answered simply, throwing the fish onto the grill._

"_You're so whipped, you can't even tell your wife that people don't eat fish at a barbecue?" Nate sighed, shaking his head._

"_I'm married to her and fish isn't that bad." _

"_I'm never getting married then." _

"_Archibald. Humphrey." Chuck stood in front of the two, looking at the grill in disgust. "What the hell is that? It doesn't look like hamburger."_

"_Its fish." Nate muttered, adding six hot dogs to the grill. _

"_Why is there fish on the-"_

"_Can't you guys go entertain your girlfriends and my wife instead of bothering me?" Dan sighed, forking a fillet on a plate. "Give that to Serena."_

"_I'm not touching that." Nate muttered, stepping back.  
_

"_Its a plate with fish on it." _

"_I'll take it." Chuck rolled his eyes, and walked away, leaving Dan and Nate standing there._

"_What?" Nate asked, seeing Dan's stare.  
_

"_Nothing..just go..do something. I'm about to put more fish on the grill." _

_Nate rolled his eyes, walking away. He got halfway across the yard when his feet flew out from under him, making him land on his butt. "What the hell was that?" He glared at Dan, who shrugged._

"_You slipped on a banana peel, Nate." Serena choked out between giggling fits. _

"Daddy, can you tell the one about when everyone came over and Uncle Chuck had too much to drink and he fell?"

"Scotch?" Serena giggled, playing with the collar of Caden's shirt.

"A little bit. Blair dumped him. For the 62nd time."

"_Daniel and Nathaniel and C-man." His eyes narrowed slightly at the little boy. "You don't fit into the rhyme."_

"_Uncle Chuck, you smell funny."_

"_Yeah, care to tell us why?" Nate and Dan each grabbed one of Chuck's arms, dragging him to the other side of the room, away from Caden._

"_Blair, the Waldorf, yeah, she dumped me." He staggered, sliding onto the barstool less than gracefully._

"_This is like the 100th time." Nate muttered, shaking his head as he poured Chuck a glass of water. "Here, drink this."_

_Chuck took the glass, downing half of it and sputtering it out. "What is this? It tastes like crap."_

"_Its water." _

"_No thanks, I'll have a scotch, no ice." Chuck pushed the half empty glass away, grimacing. _

"_I'll go get Blair." Dan muttered, stepping away from Chuck._

"_So why did you two break up?" Nate refilled the glass, putting it and two pills on the counter._

"_Nate." Chuck's eyes narrowed as the one Nate turned into four. "She wouldn't shut up about how perfect her dear Nathaniel was. How he was better than me. You haven't seen him around, have you?"_

"_Chuck, your liver is going to implode if you don't drink this." Nate pushed the water towards him, ignoring his drunken ramblings._

"_No water, water bad."_

"_Chuck?" _

_He turned, almost knocking the glass over. "Waldorf?"  
_

_She waved a hand in front of his face, watching his pupils. "You're drunk."_

"_Slightly. Let me guess, your dear Nathaniel isn't right? Where the _hell _is that bastard?" Chuck tried to step off the stool, falling flat on his face._

"_I'll get him." Nate offered, getting Chuck out of the room before Serena could come over in a fit of pregnant hormones._

"Why did Auntie Blair say that Uncle Nate was better? Uncle Chuck looks cooler." Caden defended, crossing his arms.

"I thought you liked Uncle Nate and Chuck the same." Dan said, laughing.

"Uncle Chuck has cooler clothes."

"I wouldn't exactly say cooler, but whatever you say Caden." Serena laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of the little boy's head.

"Alright, any others or can I go make dinner now?"

"Can you make that thing with the strawberries and the chocolate for dessert?" Caden asked, suddenly alert.

"I'll try." Dan laughed, strolling into the kitchen, leaving Caden and Serena out in the sunset.


	20. Chapter 20

**So you guys probably hate me since I haven't updated in so long. I'm sorry, I really tried to write this, but it got too hard. Thank you for those who have stuck by me, you're the best. Please review. **

* * *

Two days later, Serena waddled to the door, wondering when Dan was going to come back with their dinner. Wrenching it open, she saw a familiar face she had definitely not expected to see.

"S!" Georgina Sparks stood in front of her, smiling innocently and holding a bottle of vodka. "It's been so long!"

"Georgina, hey. Its great to see you. Come in." Serena held the door open, a bit self conscious about her bump.

"Its great to see you too! I heard about your baby and I just had to come." She oozed fake sincerity, nothing had changed about her.

Serena chuckled, settling down at the kitchen table. "I'm so excited. Oh you have to meet my husband, Dan! He's the most amazing person. I bet he'd love you."

Georgina grinned, holding up the vodka. "Well why don't we get re-acquainted, have a couple drinks."

"I can't...drink. Its bad for the baby."

"Oh right, well that's a shame." She fished a shot glass out of her bag, setting it down with a loud thunk. She smiled to herself, watching Serena's eyes stare at the glass as she filled it. "Are you sure you don't want _one _drink? It won't hurt."

"I shouldn't." Her eyes remained locked on the clear liquid. She knew better. "I'm fine. Besides Dan's coming home soon."

"Is Dan in charge of your life?"

"Serena, I'm home!" Dan called, walking into the house. His eyes narrowed once he saw the brunette sitting across from Serena. "What the _hell _are you doing here?" He snarled, walking over and snatching the bottle of vodka from Georgina's hands.

"Oh Serena, is this Dan?" She smiled at Serena, fake sincerity oozing out of her.

"Don't act like you didn't do all that shit _Sarah_." His brown eyes were narrowed, fists clenched. It was all he could do not to lunge over and grab her. "Now get the hell out of my house, stay away from Serena and our family unless you want another boot camp stint."

"Geez, someone's a little grumpy." Georgina reached over, grabbing her purse and leaned over to hug Serena before Dan stood between the two.

"You touch her and I will make you wish you had never been born." Dan threatened, his voice low. "Get out. Now."

She rolled her eyes, wrenching the door open and waving to Serena. "Bye S." She slammed the door closed, infuriating Dan even more.

"What the hell is your problem!?" Serena pushed him aside, glowering at him.

"My problem? What the hell is yours? That...that bitch ruined our relationship and made you believe that you killed someone."

"She's my friend, Dan. Whether you like it or not, I have friends. Besides, she never did a thing to our relationship. What are you talking about?"

Dan laughed, the angry bitter sound echoing in the empty house. He was suddenly grateful Chuck had taken Caden out, despite the corruption that could potentially happen. "Of course. You don't remember. You don't remember _anything_. I am sick and tired of this Serena." He turned on her, eyes flashing coldly. "You probably just made this up for whatever hell of a reason you had. That is exactly the kind of thing you would do."

"Oh yeah, because pretending you don't remember someone in your life is so easy." Sarcasm boomed out of her voice, making him flinch. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up Dan? I'm sorry everything has to be so fucking perfect for you. Perfect life, perfect family, right? No old drinking buddies for your wife."

Dan's fists clenched again, the sudden tensing making his arms shake. "Drinking buddy? Why don't you try murderer, coke addict, bitch queen?" He set the bottle down, afraid of smashing the neck to pieces. "You hate her Serena. You absolutely hate her."

"Give me one reason why I should believe you." She growled back, holding onto the table in case she fell.

"She seduced me while we were dating. She pretended to be someone named Sarah and I cheated on you with her." He spoke softly, watching as hurt became more and more visible in her eyes.

Her eyes narrowed as her mouth opened, speaking the last words she would say in a while. "Fuck you Dan. I hope you go to fucking hell and stay there." The last few words became slurred as she suddenly collapsed.

"Serena!" Dan slid, catching her before she could hurt herself. "Are you okay?" He blew air into her lips, laying his head down and listening to her heart beat.

"Dan, what's wrong?" Chuck stood in the doorway, cell phone in hand and Caden behind him.

"Call an ambulance!" Dan shouted, wincing when he realized he was freaking his son out. "She just...we were arguing and she passed out."

"Daddy...why were you yelling at momma?"

"Caden, mommy and daddy had a fight okay?" His voice broke as he held Serena tightly. "Listen I want you to stay with Uncle Chuck okay?"

"Daddy.."

"Caden, please. Listen to me." Dan said, the tone of his voice scaring himself. "Stay with Chuck."

Caden turned away, eyebrows creasing as he tried to grasp what was going on. "Okay." He padded away, head drooping.

The sound of an ambulance made Dan's ears perk up. "In here!"

He watched silently as they loaded her onto the gurney. This couldn't be happening. He made his way into the ambulance, sitting next to Serena, clasping her hand. "I'm so sorry. So so sorry."

--

Dan ran a hand through his hair, his mind running wild with worry. Earlier one of the doctors had told him that she would have to deliver the baby now, through surgery. And he wasn't allowed in. He was, however, allowed to watch from above, but it was just too difficult. He stared straight down as they prepped her for surgery. A hand clapped him on the shoulder, and he knew who it was without looking.

"Hey."

"Dan, she's going to be fine." Nate said, making Dan turn around, getting a closer look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, shirt wrinkled and his hands were shaking.

"Okay."

"Believe me."

"I do."

"I can always tell when you're lying." Nate said, turning back to the operating table. "Your kid and Serena are going to be fine. Not to mention Caden as well."

The next words Dan spoke were hard, somehow finding their way around the lump in his throat. "What if she dies?"

"She won't. She's Serena Humphrey. We know she's a fighter."

"I'll believe you when I know that she's okay."


	21. Chapter 21

Dan stared through the glass wall separating him and his new babies. The tags on their small beds read '_Humphrey'_. He wasn't going to name them yet. He wouldn't do it without _her. _Serena. Just the mere thought of her made him feel ashamed, guilty.

The twins were healthy, cheeks flushed pink. He couldn't say the same for Serena. Shortly after the operation, she had dropped into a coma. Another coma. Dan ran a hand through his hair, his back against the cold wall. He hated hospitals so much and he was back again. As if it were intended for him to spend about two years of his adult life in the damn place.

He slid down the wall until he was sitting against his, eyes shut tightly. His arms shook as he struggled to contain himself. He couldn't do this. He couldn't risk losing her again. Several minutes later, he picked himself up, looking through the glass window again. Flashbacks raced through his head, each memory a painful ache.

"_You just looked very kissable in that light."_

Spoken in the aftermath of their 'first date', those were the words that gave him confidence. Gave him the sliver of hope he needed.

"_I'm your wife. Ravish me." _Dan grew tense, remembering every single detail of their interrupted make out session. He could still see the sly look in her eyes as she had whispered those words to him in the safety of their own house.

"_Its okay, I do. I do love you." _

It was amazing how three simple words could affect him so much. How it would affect them. Dan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't going to lose control. Not now.

"Daddy?"

Dan whirled around, seeing Caden and Nate standing there. "Hey"

"You okay?"

Dan shrugged, picking up Caden effortlessly. "Daddy, where's momma?"

"She's asleep, okay buddy?" Dan said lightly, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"Is it the sleep where she doesn't wake up for a long time? 'Cause I don't like that one." Caden said, the concern and innocence in his voice just about breaking Dan's heart.

"I'm afraid so, bud. But the doctors said she'll wake up soon."

Caden nodded, his little dark blonde head bobbing. "Okay, I hope mommy wakes up soon. 'Cause if she doesn't, you'll be all sad again and I liked it better when mommy was here and we would make fun of Uncle Nate's hair."

"What?"

Dan smiled just a tiny bit, looking over at his astonished friend. "Caden, you weren't supposed to tell anyone."

"Sorry Uncle Nate."

Dan ruffled Caden's hair, setting him down back on the ground. "Can you watch him some more? I have to go see her."

"Do what you have to do. We'll be back at your place, just call us."

--

He sat in front her, the scene all too familiar. She lay there, hands folded neatly across her stomach, curls sprawled out underneath her. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he bowed his head, unable to look at her. "Serena," he mumbled desperately, as if she could hear him. "Please don't do this. Not again."

He played with the collar of his shirt, unsure of what to say. "I need you. Caden needs you. The twins need you. I'm sorry I yelled at you, just..please," he murmured, voice cracking. "Please come back to me."

Tears slipped down his face as he buried his face in his hands. This was too much. Too fast. "I can't do this without you. Serena, please. I-" He choked on his words, and couldn't say anymore and so he just cried. He cried for her, because of her, for their kids, for himself.

Hours later (he didn't bother to check the time. It no longer mattered), he had slipped into some sort of half sleep, his head lying on the edge of her bed, the rest of body situated in chair. His hands were lightly touching one of hers, for he couldn't sleep without the contact.

As he slumbered on, he became unaware that his hands no longer held hers. He had no idea her eyes had fluttered open, that she had let out a groan and whispered his name. Serena reached out slowly, still feeling faint and ran a hand through Dan's curls. A soft smile spread across her face as she called his name again. "Dan, baby."

Slowly, her voice registered with his brain, forcing him to wake up. He raised his head slowly, staring at her smiling face as if it were a mirage. "_Serena,_" he whispered, blinking to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." She murmured as she took his hand. "Are you mad at me?"

"Never." He smiled and pressed his lips against hers. "I'm so glad you woke up, I thought I almost lost you." He kissed her again, one hand stroking her cheek. "Serena, we have _twins. _A little boy and a girl."

She stared at him, amazed. "That's wonderful. So so wonderful." She held her tongue, knowing that he wanted to say more, needed to say more.

"I couldn't name them. Not without you."

"I love you," she cooed and laced their fingers together. "And there's something you have to know."

"Okay," he said patiently, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "What's wrong?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, nothing's wrong. Dan," she murmured his name with so much love in her voice, he had to hold back from kissing her. "I _remember._"

"Remember what?" He asked, doing his best not to get his hopes up.

"I remember you. And our son. Everything." She leaned in, kissing him again.

His arms locked around her, bringing them closer. He grinned, eyes lighting up. "I love you. I love you so much." He placed feather light kisses all over her face, hugging her tighter still.

She pulled back slightly, her mind going over the new memories. "I'm sorry I pushed you away. God, I'm so _sorry_. And Georgina, oh god."

"Hey, its okay." Dan chuckled, brushing his lips against her forehead. "What matters now is that we're here, and we have a boy and girl to name."

"Isabelle." Serena murmured firmly. "Isabelle Humphrey."

"I like it. Do I get to choose her middle name?" After an excited nod from her, he said, "Jade. Isabelle Jade Humphrey."

"Perfect." Her fingers curled around his shoulders, pulling him towards her. "What about our son?"

"Ryder."

"Ryder Maximus Humphrey." She murmured decisively.

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect." He grinned, kissing her again. And that was how they spent the next hour, just holding on to one another until the nurse woke them, finally letting Serena see the twins.

--

**14 years later**

"Caden, get out of my shower. Why don't you use your own?" A fourteen year old Ryder yelled, pounding on the door of the bathroom. He ran a hand through his brown hair, groaning. Caden _always _did this on the first day of school. And now that he was in college and his semester didn't start until halfway through the month, he proceeded to take longer showers, making Ryder late.

"Ryder, why are you yelling?" Dan's head popped through the bedroom where his youngest son was standing there angrily in boxer shorts.

"Caden's in my shower."

"Go use Caden's. He has everything you need." Dan gestured down the hall and looked over his son's cheeks. "And you might want to shave."

"Thanks Dad." Ryder sighed, walking down to Caden's bathroom. He was only 14 and he was 5'8 and he needed to shave. Great, just great.

Dan shook his head at him before walking over to Isabelle's room, knocking gently on the door. "Iz?"

The door opened and in front of Dan stood Isabelle, dressed in the Constance's uniform, looking exactly like Serena. "Morning daddy!"

"You look..grown up." He mused, eyes narrowing playfully. "You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

"Why would you think that?" She asked innocently. "Oh smell that? Mom made breakfast." She skipped past him, the same angelic smile in place.

"I want to meet him." Dan called after her retreating back. "After school."

"Shooting any boy looks who at Iz again?" Caden laughed from behind Dan. He had just stepped out of the shower and caught a bit of the conversation.

"You should go get dressed. We're going gun shopping later." Dan muttered, observing the droplets that fell from Caden's dark blonde hair.

Caden let out a laugh, shaking his head at his father. Dan rolled his eyes, walking down the staircase towards the kitchen. He walked over to where Serena was manning the stove, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Good morning beautiful."

"Morning." She murmured, turning to kiss him.

"I'm trying to digest this, if you don't mind." Isabelle waved the croissant she was eating.

"They're making out again?" Ryder asked, sitting down next to Isabelle. He was freshly showered, his brown hair looking almost exactly like Nate's.

"Don't worry, it was a lot worse when I was a kid." Caden called from above.

"You two are going to be late for school." Serena said, rolling her eyes. "You better hurry up."

"Wouldn't want to keep Julian waiting." Ryder smirked, leaving the table before Isabelle could attack him.

"Don't forget your blazer and coat, honey." Serena called after him, keeping a tight hold on Dan's arm.

"Well, look at the time. Bye mommy, daddy." With that, Isabelle all but ran out the door.

"I really hope he didn't mean Julian Bass." Dan muttered, shaking his head at the thought of Chuck's son.

"Dan, don't worry so much. We raised her well. Look at Caden, he turned out semi-okay."

"I heard that!" Caden's voice rang from upstairs.

Dan chuckled, leaning into kiss Serena. "Okay, but I'm still going gun shopping."

Serena giggled, pushing him against the counter. "Come on, the kids are at school, we're all alone, why not spend some quality time together and think about guns later?"

"Okay," he chuckled, letting her pull his t-shirt off. He kissed her eagerly, hips grinding against hers as they switched positions.

"Oh my god!"

Dan broke the kiss, seeing Caden half way down the staircase, mortified.

"My eyes...14 years and you're still doing this!?"

"Caden.."

"I'm going to go, and pretend I never saw this so Jenna will still think I have a normal family." He ran down the staircase and out the door, forgetting to grab his coat.

Dan turned to Serena, a broad grin stretched across his face. "Semi-okay?"

"Semi-okay." She giggled, kissing him again. She pulled back, one hand playing with his hair. "I love you."

"And I love you." He murmured, kissing a trail down her jaw. "No matter what."

**The End.**

A/N: Wow, its finally finished. I'm getting all sentimental now. I've been writing this for an entire year and its over. Wow. I want to thank a lot of people for helping me with this fic aka the people who kicked my ass so I would finish the fic: Leighton, Hannah, Paty, Laura, Keri, Calie, Manda, Dana, B,Steph, basically everyone on FF, Stef, and everyone who reviewed. Its been a long year, I've gone through a lot but its with your praise and help that I've been able to finish it.

Also it may seem like I've stolen ideas from other fics, but I haven't because I've had this planned for 8 months, I think.

Thanks again and I really hope you review.

Steph.


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